L. plantarum MR1 altered the gut microbiota composition. L. plantarum MR1-produced acetate promoted the uridine synthesis of Nile tilapia. (a) Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of the intestinal bacterial community. (b) Abundance of the gut bacteria at the phylum levels. (c) Abundance of the gut bacteria at the Genus levels. (a–c) n = 6 in NC and HC groups and n = 5 in HCL group. (d) Intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) detection in Nile tilapia (n = 6). (e) Gene expression of acss1 and acss2 in the liver (n = 6). (f) Detection of the concentration of acetyl-CoA in the liver by HPLC (n = 6). (g) Analysis of uridine contents in the sodium acetate (NaAc)-treated hepatocytes (n = 6). (h) Gene expression of acss1 and acss2 in the hepatocytes (n = 6). Statistics were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s adjustment (a–f) or Student’s t-test (g,h), and presented as mean ± SEM (*, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001).