Monascus is a filamentous fungus that produces several secondary metabolites. Here, we investigated the effects of the global regulator LaeA on the synthesis of pigments and monacolin K in Monascus purpureus with spectrophotometer and HPLC methods. The LaeA gene was isolated from M. purpureus M1 to create an overexpression construct. An LaeA-overexpressing strain L3 was with 48.6% higher monacolin K production than the M1 strain. The L3 strain also produced higher Monascus pigments than the M1 strain. SEM showed that LaeA overexpression resulted in altered mycelial morphology. Compared with the M1 strain, the L3 strain expressed higher levels of monacolin K synthesis-related genes mokA, mokB, mokE, and mokH. Overall, these results suggest that LaeA plays a role in regulating the production of secondary metabolites and mycelial growth in Monascus. This study provides important insights into the mechanisms underlying the effects of the LaeA gene on the secondary metabolites of M. purpureus.

中文翻译：

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全球调节剂LaeA的过度表达增加了红曲菌次级代谢产物的产生。

红曲霉是一种丝状真菌，可产生几种次级代谢产物。在这里，我们用分光光度计和HPLC方法研究了全球调节剂LaeA对紫红曲霉色素和莫纳可林K合成的影响。从紫癜支原体M1中分离出LaeA基因以产生过表达构建体。过表达LaeA的L3菌株的莫纳可林K产量比M1菌株高48.6％。L3菌株也产生比M1菌株更高的红曲色素。SEM显示LaeA过表达导致菌丝体形态改变。与M1菌株相比，L3菌株表达了更高的莫纳可林K合成相关基因mokA，mokB，mokE和mokH。总体而言，这些结果表明，LaeA在调节红曲菌次级代谢产物的产生和菌丝体生长中发挥作用。