AUTHOR=He Yatao , Liu Junlin , Chen Qian , Gan Senning , Sun Ting , Huo Shengdong 

TITLE=Monascus sanguineus May Be a Natural Nothospecies

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.614910

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.614910

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The genus <italic>Monascus</italic> has important economic and ecological values. In 2016, we isolated a strain <italic>M. sanguineus</italic>. After studying the phylogenetic relationship of <italic>Monascus</italic>, we believe that <italic>M. sanguineus</italic> is an independent species and speculate that it is a natural nothospecies. Recently, the morphological characteristics and sequences of seven genes (ITS, LSU, β-tubulin, calmodulin, RNA polymerase II subunit, β-ketoacyl synthase, and mating-type locus 1-1) of 15 <italic>Monascus</italic> strains were analyzed, including sequencing of multiple clones of five protein genes in four <italic>M. sanguineus</italic> strains. Two types of haplotypes (A and B) were observed in the five protein genes of <italic>M. sanguineus</italic>. Haplotype A was closely related to <italic>M. ruber</italic>, and haplotype B may be derived from an unknown <italic>Monascus</italic> species. The results demonstrated that <italic>M. sanguineus</italic> including type strains may be a natural nothospecies. This study laid the foundation for further exploration of the <italic>M. sanguineus</italic> genome, and the study may be of significant importance for the <italic>Monascus</italic> fermentation industry.</p>