Nutritional Contribution of <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. in <i>Artemia</i> Culture

The nutritional contribution of Pseudomonas sp., a predominant bacteria in Artemia-rice bran culture, in the diet of Artemia was determined. Artemia nauplii hatched out aseptically were fed with autoclaved rice bran, heat-dried (HD) Pseudomonas sp. or its combination for 9 days under axenic laboratory conditions. Amino acids analysis by the HPLC method was performed forboth diets. A higher essential amino acid content was obtained in HD Pseudomonas compared to rice bran. Artemia fed with rice bran and HD Pseudomonas resulted in better survival and significant growth than the Artemia fed with rice bran only. Some resident bacteria, in particular Pseudomonas, growing in Artemia culture seem to constitute a major source of protein and amino acids needed for thegrowth and survival of Artemia.