Analysis of secondary metabolite gene clusters and chitin biosynthesis pathways of Monascus purpureus with high production of pigment and citrinin based on whole-genome sequencing

Abstract

Monascus is a filamentous fungus that is widely used for producing Monascus pigments in the food industry in Southeast Asia. While the development of bioinformatics has helped elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying metabolic engineering of secondary metabolite biosynthesis, the biological information on the metabolic engineering of the morphology of Monascus remains unclear. In this study, the whole genome of M. purpureus CSU-M183 strain was sequenced using combined single-molecule real-time DNA sequencing and next-generation sequencing platforms. The length of the genome assembly was 23.75 Mb in size with a GC content of 49.13%, 69 genomic contigs and encoded 7305 putative predicted genes. In addition, we identified the secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and the chitin synthesis pathway in the genome of the high pigment-producing M. purpureus CSU-M183 strain. Furthermore, it is shown that the expression levels of most Monascus pigment and citrinin clusters located genes were significantly enhanced via atmospheric room temperature plasma mutagenesis. The results provide a basis for understanding the secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and constructing the metabolic engineering of the morphology of Monascus.

Occurrence, Risk Implications, Prevention and Control of CIT in Monascus Cheese: A Review

“…147 The stimulation of physical factors or treatment with chemical reagents can directly affect the genetic material of the cells to overcome the disadvantages of natural evolution or the slow rate of mutation and increase the frequency of mutations to optimize the production performance of the strain. 148 Atmospheric pressure room temperature plasma (ARTP) is emerging as a new mutagenic tool, owing to its advantages of low temperature and high energy. ARTP has multiple mechanisms for damaging genetic material and can increase the diversity of mutations in Monascus strains compared to traditional mutagenesis methods.…”

“…Monascus species are complex, and additional research has been conducted on Monascus ruber , Monascus purpureus , and Monascus pilosus , revealing differences in their production abilities . The stimulation of physical factors or treatment with chemical reagents can directly affect the genetic material of the cells to overcome the disadvantages of natural evolution or the slow rate of mutation and increase the frequency of mutations to optimize the production performance of the strain . Atmospheric pressure room temperature plasma (ARTP) is emerging as a new mutagenic tool, owing to its advantages of low temperature and high energy.…”