Clams are an important economic bivalve mollusk in Taiwan, and their growth and survival are easily affected by water temperature, salinity, and pathogens. A recent study by the Fisheries Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture found that many heat-tolerant bacteria in the guts of clams may be the key to their adaptation to drastic climate change, as these bacteria help clams adapt to high temperatures in the changeable estuarine environment.
The Fisheries Research Institute has pointed out that the intestinal flora of wild clams produced in freshwater rivers collected in early summer contain many high-temperature-resistant bacteria species, including Geobacillus thermodenitrificans, Bacillus alveayuensis and Ureibacillus thermosphaericus, which help clams to survive under the impact of high temperatures caused by climate change. Among them, Geobacillus thermodenitrificans has potential use in aquaculture probiotics and feed additives. According to the analysis of its bacterial composition, this bacterium can survive stably in clams, which helps the clams maintain physiological functions under high-temperature environments and produce various organic substances. This bacterium can also help clams produce geobacillus, which is structurally stable at high temperatures and has an antibacterial effect, to adapt to the drastic temperature changes in the estuarine environment.
In addition, the Fisheries Research Institute speculates that the composition of the intestinal bacteria in clams may change with the season to adapt to different temperature environments, but more studies are needed to confirm the actual situation. Therefore, in the future, the Institute will continue to pay attention to these changes and further study the function and application value of symbiotic bacteria in the gut of clams, so as to further promote the development of clam farming.
Photo 1. Tamsui river clams
Photo 2. Removal of the gut for bacterial nucleic acid extraction and sequencing