AUTHOR=Jiang Zhilin , Duan Yunxun , Yin Qianqian , Zhang Jing , Chen Jing , Lan Jingsha , Xiao Chen , Tang Xian , Wang Xinhui , Zuo Yong 

TITLE=Study on the effect of ascorbic acid on the biosynthesis of pigment and citrinin in red yeast rice based on comparative transcriptomics

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1460690

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1460690

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Pigment is one of the most important metabolites in red yeast rice. However, citrinin may accumulate and cause quality security issues. In the present study, the effect of ascorbic acid (EAA) on the pigment and citrinin was studied, and the metabolic mechanism was discussed using comparative transcriptomics. The introduction of EAA increased the pigment by 58.2% and decreased citrinin by 65.4%. The acid protease activity, DPPH scavenging rate, and total reducing ability also increased by 18.7, 9.0, and 26.7%, respectively. Additionally, a total of 791 differentially expressed genes were identified, and 79 metabolic pathways were annotated, among which carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism were closely related to the biosynthesis of pigment and citrinin. Ethanol dehydrogenase (<italic>M pigC</italic>), oxidoreductase (<italic>M pigE</italic>), reductase (<italic>M pigH</italic>), and monooxygenase (<italic>M pigN</italic>) may be related to the increase of pigment. <italic>ctnC</italic> and <italic>pksCT</italic> contributed to the decline of citrinin.</p>