Abstract
Nitrates can stimulate the biosynthesis of hydrophilic yellow pigments (HYPs) in Monascus ruber CGMCC 10910. To explore the molecular mechanisms whereby nitrates (NaNO3 and NH4NO3) regulate HYP production, an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis was conducted in this study. Nitrate addition led to an approximately 75% higher HYP production compared with the untreated group, especially compounds Y3 and Y4. Comparative transcriptomic analysis found that mpigsA, H, K, L, and P genes involved in yellow pigment biosynthesis were significantly upregulated. In addition, pigment biosynthesis-related (carbon catabolism, amino acid metabolism, polyketide synthesis, and fatty acid metabolism) genes were upregulated to provide precursors and energy for HYP biosynthesis and cell growth. Secretion-related (cytomembrane ergosterol biosynthetic, and transport) pathways were also noticeably regulated to accelerate transmembrane transport of HYPs. Meanwhile, proteomic analysis showed that nitrates improved the protein expression of hybrid polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthetase, oxidoreductase, glucoamylase, endo-1,4-beta-xylanase, O-acetylhomoserine, and isocitrate lyase to enhance HYP production. These findings demonstrated the regulatory mechanism of nitrates for enhancing HYP production in Monascus.
Key points
• Nitrates stimulated the biosynthesis of Monascus hydrophilic yellow pigments (HYPs)
• Nitrates affected transcriptional level of pigment biosynthesis- and transport genes
• Increased expression of hybrid PKS-NRPS and transporters promoted production of HYPs
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Funding
This study was financially supported by Guangdong Key R&D Program, Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (2019B040402002 and 2019B020210002), and Guangdong Special Funds for Science and Technology Innovation Strategy, China (2018JK35202003).
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SZY and ZFH designed and carried out the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript; ZFH, TTH, and SZY assisted to carry out the experiment; XFT and ZQW participated in the data analysis and finalized the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Huang, Z., Hu, T., Yang, S. et al. Genetic responses to adding nitrates to improve hydrophilic yellow pigment in Monascus fermentation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 107, 1341–1359 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12392-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12392-9