Hormone-Microbiome Interactions in Aquaculture: Unlocking New Strategies for Growth and Disease Resistance In Aquaculture

Abstract

Intensive aquaculture exposes fish and shrimp to crowding, handling, transport, hypoxia, ammonia, temperature fluctuations, and infectious pressure. These stressors activate endocrine responses while simultaneously altering the intestinal and environmental microbiota. This review reorganizes evidence around mechanisms before application. The central stress pathway is environmental stress followed by cortisol release, microbiome dysbiosis, reduced immune function and higher disease susceptibility. The complementary probiotic pathway begins with viable beneficial microorganisms, proceeds through microbial metabolites and metabolic or endocrine signaling, and may culminate in improved growth and immunity. Evidence is strongest for changes in digestion, gut-barrier integrity, antioxidant defense, innate immunity and pathogen exclusion. Direct endocrine mediation is promising but remains less consistently demonstrated and depends on host species, life stage, strain identity, dose, diet and water conditions. Experimental studies report activation of the IGF-1/Akt pathway in greater amberjack, improved growth and immune performance in Nile tilapia and olive flounder, and microbiome-mediated protection against shrimp disease. The Pakistan analysis is strengthened with official data. During July-March FY2026, total fish production reached 642.18 thousand tones, including 427.18 thousand tones from marine fisheries and 215.00 thousand tones from inland waters, while fish and fisheries-product exports totaled 199.9 thousand tones valued at US$405.1 million. FAO reports aquaculture production of 168,700 tons in 2023, of which 99.9% was inland. The fisheries sector contributed 0.30% of national GDP and 1.29% of agricultural value added in FY2026. These figures support a targeted rather than generic strategy for Pakistan: water-quality control and biosecurity should precede strain-verified probiotics, microbial and endocrine monitoring, and farm-scale economic evaluation. Hormone-microbiome interventions can support antibiotic stewardship and production resilience, but they should be treated as context-dependent biological tools rather than universal substitutes for sound husbandry.