title: Identification and characterization of genes responsible for biosynthesis of kojic acid, an industrially important compound from Aspergillus oryzae.
abstract: Kojic acid is produced in large amounts by Aspergillus oryzae as a secondary metabolite and is widely used in the cosmetic industry. Glucose can be converted to kojic acid, perhaps by only a few steps, but no genes for the conversion have thus far been revealed. Using a DNA microarray, gene expression profiles under three pairs of conditions significantly affecting kojic acid production were compared. All genes were ranked using an index parameter reflecting both high amounts of transcription and a high induction ratio under producing conditions. After disruption of nine candidate genes selected from the top of the list, two genes of unknown function were found to be responsible for kojic acid biosynthesis, one having an oxidoreductase motif and the other a transporter motif. These two genes are closely associated in the genome, showing typical characteristics of genes involved in secondary metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasunobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terabayashi
authors.forename: Motoaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marui
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamano
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sagara
authors.forename: Mitsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dohmoto
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: Kuniharu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Higa
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machida
mesh_terms: D001236:Aspergillus oryzae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007218:Industrial Microbiology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011753:Pyrones / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D011753:Pyrones; C011890:kojic acid; D005947:Glucose