title: Glutamic acid promotes monacolin K production and monacolin K biosynthetic gene cluster expression in Monascus.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of glutamic acid on production of monacolin K and expression of the monacolin K biosynthetic gene cluster. When Monascus M1 was grown in glutamic medium instead of in the original medium, monacolin K production increased from 48.4 to 215.4 mg l-1, monacolin K production increased by 3.5 times. Glutamic acid enhanced monacolin K production by upregulating the expression of mokB-mokI; on day 8, the expression level of mokA tended to decrease by Reverse Transcription-polymerase Chain Reaction. Our findings demonstrated that mokA was not a key gene responsible for the quantity of monacolin K production in the presence of glutamic acid. Observation of Monascus mycelium morphology using Scanning Electron Microscope showed glutamic acid significantly increased the content of Monascus mycelium, altered the permeability of Monascus mycelium, enhanced secretion of monacolin K from the cell, and reduced the monacolin K content in Monascus mycelium, thereby enhancing monacolin K production.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|School of Food and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Chan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|School of Food and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Shiyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Chenxi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China.|School of Food and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Baoguo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology & Business University (BTBU), Beijing, 100048, China. hongqumei@126.com.|School of Food and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China. hongqumei@126.com.|Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Technology & Business University, Beijing, 100048, China. hongqumei@126.com.|Beijing Technology & Business University, Fucheng Road 11, Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China. hongqumei@126.com.
authors.forename: Chengtao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Gene expression; Glutamic acid; Monacolin K; Monascus RT-qPCR