Abstract
Objectives
To characterize a biosynthetic gene that is selectively involved in the biosynthesis of yellow or orange components in the azaphilone polyketide pathway of Monascus.
Results
A reductive modification is predicted to control the relative levels of reduced (yellow) and oxidized (orange and red) components in the pathway of azaphilone pigment biosynthesis in Monascus. Targeted inactivation of a reductase gene mppE enhanced orange and red pigment production whereas overexpression of the gene promoted yellow pigment production. The effect of mppE overexpression was dependent on culture methods, and augmented yellow pigmentation was evident in a submerged culture employing a chemically defined medium.
Conclusions
MppE controls the biosynthesis of the yellow pigments, ankaflavin and monascin, as a reductive enzyme in the azaphilone polyketide pathway.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2013R1A1A2059458 and NRF-2016R1D1A1B02009237).
Supporting information
Supplementary Table 1—Primers used.
Supplementary Fig. 1—LC-MS analysis for identification of MAz compounds in the extract.
Supplementary Fig. 2—Pigment content and profile of the organic extracts from PDB cultures.
Supplementary Fig. 3—Structures of the compounds other than 1–6.
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Balakrishnan, B., Park, SH. & Kwon, HJ. A reductase gene mppE controls yellow component production in azaphilone polyketide pathway of Monascus . Biotechnol Lett 39, 163–169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-016-2232-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-016-2232-y