Isolation and identification of Monascus and evaluation of its selenium accumulation
Yuhan Sun, Yuan Gan, Lin Zhang, Yiheng Shi, Tianli Yue, Yahong Yuan
Abstract
Selenium (Se) plays an important role in human physiological metabolism. Se-enriched microorganism could be a remedy for Se-deficiency related diseases. Monascus are acid-resistant, saprophytic, filamentous and edible fungi which are widely used in the food fermentation industry. However, studies on Se-biofortification almost ignore the possibility of applications in Monascus. In this work, a Monascus purpureus, M12 was isolated from the collected samples and used for Se-resistant testing and Se-enrichment domestication. The results showed M12 hold strong ability to tolerate exogenously applied inorganic Se. At all concentrations of sodium selenite, the strain can enter the growth boom period within 2 d, without a lag period. The total selenium content in M12 was between 1400 and 2000 μg/g. When the concentration of sodium selenite was between 40 and 90 μg/mL, the utilization rate of inorganic Se reached 99%. The optimal conditions for Se accumulation were also optimized by determining the total Se, organic Se content in fungal cell. The Se enrichment ability of Monascus provides a new potential for dietary Se supplementation.