16S rRNA  sequencing of gut microbiota in Pontastacus leptodactylus fed different dietary protein sources and DMPT supplementation
This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of dietary dimethyl-beta-propiothetin (DMPT) supplementation on the intestinal microbiota of narrow-clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus) fed an all-plant protein diet, to support the application of DMPT in sustainable freshwater aquaculture.Healthy adult Pontastacus leptodactylus were randomly assigned to three experimental groups for a 4-week feeding trial:1. All-plant protein diet group: Crayfish were fed a diet with 100% plant protein as the sole protein source;2. All-animal protein diet group: Crayfish were fed a diet with 100% animal protein as the sole protein source (served as the positive control);3. DMPT supplementation group: Crayfish were fed the all-plant protein diet supplemented with 0.5% dimethyl-beta-propiothetin (DMPT).After 4 weeks of feeding, intestinal content samples were collected from crayfish in each group. 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V3-V4 hypervariable region) was performed on the Illumina PE250 platform to analyze the changes in gut microbial composition, diversity, and functional potential under different dietary treatments.This dataset provides fundamental gut microbiota resources for evaluating the efficacy of DMPT in improving the gut health of crayfish fed plant-based diets, and lays a foundation for the development of eco-friendly feed additives for freshwater crayfish aquaculture.