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The Magnetic Receptor of Monascus ruber M7: Gene Clone and Its Heterologous Expression in Escherichia coli

2020 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1473

Compared with control (no blue light or magnetic field), magnetic field exposure alone (5, 10, 30 mT) had no effect on growth or morphology, while blue light reduced colony diameter to 66.7% of control and inhibited cleistothecia formation. Under combined mag…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020
Study typeanimal
Reported directionMixed
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The Magnetic Receptor of Monascus ruber M7: Gene Clone and Its Heterologous Expression in Escherichia coli Hongyi Zhou, Shuyan Yang, Fusheng Chen. The Magnetic Receptor of Monascus ruber M7: Gene Clone and Its Heterologous Expression in Escherichia coli. Front Microbiol. 2020 Jun 19;11:1112. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01112. Abstract It is well known that many organisms can perceive the magnetic field (MF), including the geomagnetic field, but how to feel MF is unclear. Recently, a study has claimed that a biological compass, namely a complex of the magnetic receptor (MagR) and blue light (BL) receptor (cryptochrome), has been found in Homo sapiens, Drosophila melanogaster, and Danaus plexippus, which may bring some new ideas to explore the mechanism of biomagnetism. Monascus spp. are edible filamentous fungi that can produce abundant beneficial secondary metabolites and have been used to produce food colorants for nearly 2000 years in the world, especially in China, Japan, and Korea. In this work, we firstly treated M. ruber M7 by BL (500 lux,465-467 nm), MF (5, 10, 30 mT), and the combination of MF and BL (MF-BL), respectively. The results revealed that, compared with the control (CK, neither BL nor MF), the MF alone had no effect on the growth and morphological characteristics of M7, but BL made the colonial diameters only 66.7% of CK's and inhibited the formation of cleistothecia. Under MF-BL, the colony diameters were still 66.7% of CK's, but the colonial growth and cleistothecia production inhibited by BL were partially restored. Then, we have found that the magR gene widely exists in the genomes of animals, plants, and microorganisms, and we have also discovered a magR gene in the M7 genome, hereinafter referred to mr-magR. Finally, the full-length cDNA of mr-magR was successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and the Mr-MagR protein was purified by a Ni+-NTA column and identified by Western blot. These results have laid a foundation for further investigation on the relationship between Mr- MagR and BL receptor(s) that might exist in M7. According to a literature search, it is the first time to report magR in filamentous fungi. Open access paper: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal
Effect directionmixed
PopulationMonascus ruber M7 (filamentous fungus); heterologous expression in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3)
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureNot supplied
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Compared with control (no blue light or magnetic field), magnetic field exposure alone (5, 10, 30 mT) had no effect on growth or morphology, while blue light reduced colony diameter to 66.7% of control and inhibited cleistothecia formation. Under combined magnetic field plus blue light, colony diameter remained 66.7% of control but blue-light inhibition of colonial growth and cleistothecia production was partially restored. The authors report identification of a magR gene (mr-magR) in M. ruber M7 and successful cloning and expression in E. coli with protein purification and Western blot identification.

Outcomes measured

  • Fungal growth (colony diameter)
  • Morphological characteristics
  • Cleistothecia formation/production
  • Presence/identification of magR gene (mr-magR) in M. ruber M7 genome
  • Cloning of full-length cDNA of mr-magR
  • Heterologous expression and purification of Mr-MagR protein
  • Western blot identification of Mr-MagR protein

Limitations

  • Sample size not reported in abstract
  • Exposure duration not reported in abstract
  • Only specific magnetic flux densities (5, 10, 30 mT) and blue light conditions (500 lux, 465–467 nm) described; generalizability unclear
  • Outcomes focus on fungal growth/morphology and molecular cloning; no health endpoints
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "static magnetic field",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Monascus ruber M7 (filamentous fungus); heterologous expression in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Fungal growth (colony diameter)",
    "Morphological characteristics",
    "Cleistothecia formation/production",
    "Presence/identification of magR gene (mr-magR) in M. ruber M7 genome",
    "Cloning of full-length cDNA of mr-magR",
    "Heterologous expression and purification of Mr-MagR protein",
    "Western blot identification of Mr-MagR protein"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with control (no blue light or magnetic field), magnetic field exposure alone (5, 10, 30 mT) had no effect on growth or morphology, while blue light reduced colony diameter to 66.7% of control and inhibited cleistothecia formation. Under combined magnetic field plus blue light, colony diameter remained 66.7% of control but blue-light inhibition of colonial growth and cleistothecia production was partially restored. The authors report identification of a magR gene (mr-magR) in M. ruber M7 and successful cloning and expression in E. coli with protein purification and Western blot identification.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in abstract",
    "Exposure duration not reported in abstract",
    "Only specific magnetic flux densities (5, 10, 30 mT) and blue light conditions (500 lux, 465–467 nm) described; generalizability unclear",
    "Outcomes focus on fungal growth/morphology and molecular cloning; no health endpoints"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "Monascus ruber M7",
    "magnetic field",
    "static magnetic field",
    "blue light",
    "cryptochrome",
    "MagR",
    "magR gene",
    "mr-magR",
    "heterologous expression",
    "Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3)",
    "cleistothecia",
    "colony diameter"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.15,
      "reason": "Uses millitesla-range magnetic field exposures (5–30 mT), which can overlap with some occupational static MF contexts, though the study is in fungi."
    }
  ]
}
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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01112
PubMed: Not supplied

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