Bacterioplankton assemblages as biological indicators of shrimp health status

Abstract The close correlation between the incidence of shrimp disease and the surrounding microbial community is well established. However, it remains uncertain whether particular bacterial assemblages are indicative of shrimp health status (healthy or diseased). To test this hypothesis, we used 454 pyrosequencing to compare the bacterioplankton composition of ponds with healthy shrimp populations (PHS) with that of ponds with diseased shrimp populations (PDS). The results showed that the bacterial communities in PDS were markedly distinct ( P