J Agric Food Chem. 2019 Mar 6;67(9):2563-2569. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b05524. Epub 2019 Feb 20.
Monascus purpureus is an important food and drug microbial resource through the production of a variety of secondary metabolites, including monacolin K, a well-recognized cholesterol-lowering agent. However, the high production costs and naturally low contents of monacolin K have restricted its large-scale production. Thus, in this study we sought to improve the production of monacolin K in M. purpureus through overexpression of four genes ( mokC, mokD, mokE, and mokI). Four overexpression strains were successfully constructed by protoplast electric shock conversion, which resulted in a 234.3%, 220.8%, 89.5%, and 10% increase in the yield of monacolin K, respectively. The overexpression strains showed clear changes to the mycelium surface with obvious folds and the spores with depressions, whereas the pBC5 mycelium had a fuller structure with a flatter surface. Further investigation of these strains can provide the theoretical basis and technical support for the development of functional Monascus varieties.
红曲菌是一种重要的药食两用微生物资源,通过生产各种次级代谢产物,包括众所周知的降胆固醇药物莫纳可林 K。然而,由于莫纳可林 K 的高生产成本和天然含量低,限制了其大规模生产。因此,本研究通过过表达四个基因(mokC、mokD、mokE 和 mokI)来提高红曲菌中莫纳可林 K 的产量。通过原生质体电击转化成功构建了四个过表达菌株,莫纳可林 K 的产量分别提高了 234.3%、220.8%、89.5%和 10%。过表达菌株的菌丝表面明显起皱,孢子出现凹陷,而 pBC5 菌株的菌丝结构更饱满,表面更平坦。对这些菌株的进一步研究可为功能性红曲品种的开发提供理论基础和技术支持。