Multiomics analysis of soybean meal induced marine fish enteritis in juvenile pearl gentian grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus ♂

AbstractAs an important protein source, soybean products can cause intestinal inflammation and injury in many animals including human beings, particularly infants and juvenile individuals. Research in this field has been performed for terrestrial animals and fish, but still lacks integrity and systematicness. In this study, the main biological processes in the intestinal tract of marine fish juvenile pearl gentian grouper in the state of soybean meal-induced enteritis (SBMIE) were analyzed. A total of 720 groupers with an approximate initial weight of 12.5 g were randomly divided into three groups: the fish meal (FM) control group, the 20% SBM group (SBM20), and the SBM40 group (n = 4). Three iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic diets were prepared and fed to fish for 10 weeks. Each barrel contained a water volume of about 1 m3 in and was exposed to natural light and temperature. Results indicated that the growth and physiology of groupers fed with SBM were significantly negatively affected, with the gene expressions of intestinal structural protein abnormal. 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing showed that the intestinal microflora played an important role in the pathogenesis of pearl gentian grouper SBMIE, which may activate a variety of pathogen pattern recognition receptors, such as toll-like receptors (TLRs), RIG-I-like receptors, and nod-like receptors. Transcriptome analysis revealed that changes of the SBMIE signaling pathway in pearl gentian groupers were conservative to some extent than that of terrestrial animals and freshwater fish. Moreover, the TLRs-nuclear factor kappa-B signaling pathway becomes activated, which played an important role in SBMIE. Meanwhile, the signal pathways related to nutrient absorption and metabolism were generally inhibited. Metabolomics analysis showed that isoflavones and saponins accounted for a large proportion in the potential biomarkers of pearl gentian grouper SBMIE, and most of the biomarkers had significantly positive or negative correlations with each other; 56 metabolites were exchanged between intestinal tissues and contents, which may play an important role in the development of enteritis, including unsaturated fatty acids, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins, small peptides, and nucleotides, etc. These results provide a basic theoretical reference for solving the intestinal issues of fish SBMIE and research of inflammatory bowel disease in mammals.