Image Credit: Kerry O'Donnell.
Monascus purpureus
Within the framework of the JGI 1000 Fungal Genomes CSP,
Monascus purpureus NRRL 1596 and M. ruber NRRL
1597 were selected to represent members of the ascomycete family
Monascaceae (Pezizomycotina, Eurotiomycetes). These species
produce reddish to purple pigments that diffuse into agar media.
Following its initial discovery on discolored rice in eastern Asia,
M. purpureus was developed as a food colorant in fermented
Asian foods such as red rice (also known as beni-koji and
ang-kak) and rice wine (Pitt and Hocking, 2009). However, its
use as a food colorant within the US and Europe was discontinued
subsequent to the discovery that isolates of Monascus
produce citrinin, a hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic mycotoxin (Chen et
al., 2008). Monascus is still used to color Asian
fermented foods with red yeast rice; however, citrinin levels in
these products are monitored rigorously. Although M.
purpureus produces lovastatin and mevastatin, strains of
Aspergillus terreus are typically used in the industrial
production of cholesterol-lowering statins (Patakova, 2012).
The availability of these two reference genomes and their
transcriptomes fill in the missing gap in the Fungal Tree of Life
for the family Monascaceae. Moreover, this reference genomic
data will provide researchers with a window into the biosynthetic
potential of these industrially important fungi.
References
- Chen, Y.-P., et al., 2008. Exploring the distribution of citrinin biosynthesis related genes among Monascus species. J. Agri. Food Chem. 56, 11767-11772.
- Patakova, P., 2012. Monascus secondary metabolites: production and biological activity. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. DOI 10.1007/s10295-012-1216-8.
- Pitt, J.I., Hocking, A.A.D., 2009. Fungi and Food Spoilage (3rd edition). Springer, New York.
