{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T17:04:24Z","timestamp":1786122264566,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32372472"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32372472"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32372472"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32372472"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Fungi","JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>We constructed IscA1 overexpression (IscA1+) and RNA interference (RNAi-IscA1) strains to investigate the role of IscA1 in regulating the synthesis of Monascus pigments (MPs) and citrinin (CIT) in Monascus purpureus under low-frequency magnetic field (LF-MF) exposure. Both IscA1+ and RNAi-IscA1 strains exhibited altered nutritional growth and sexual reproduction; however, asexual reproduction, the ultrastructure of spores and mycelia, and biomass in liquid fermentation, remained unaffected. The production of yellow and orange pigments increased in the IscA1+ strain, while the production of red pigments decreased in the RNAi-IscA1 strain. The expression level of the IscA1 was shown to determine intracellular iron ion content in M. purpureus. Exposure to 1.6 mT LF-MF did not impact biomass but significantly enhanced MPs and decreased intracellular iron content on the 6th day of fermentation in both IscA1+ and RNAi-IscA1 strains, while increasing CIT production in the IscA1+ strain. The interplay between IscA1 gene expression and LF-MF exposure jointly regulates the expression of genes related to iron\u2013sulfur cluster assembly, iron homeostasis, and the synthesis of MPs and CIT. These results suggest that LF-MF enhances the expression of the IscA1 gene in M. purpureus, promotes iron\u2013sulfur cluster assembly, regulates intracellular iron distribution, and influences the synthesis of MPs and CIT.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof12080585","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T09:14:28Z","timestamp":1786094068000},"page":"585","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Role of IscA1 in Low-Frequency Magnetic Field-Associated Changes in Monascus Pigments and Citrinin Levels in Monascus purpureus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Donghui","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-6623-8153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yang","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9176-4895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jialan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"},{"name":"Institute of Food Science and Technology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yingbao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suo","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7272-1304","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mengxiang","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"},{"name":"Institute of Food Science and Technology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"592","DOI":"10.1111\/pbi.14522","article-title":"Natural pigments derived from plants and microorganisms: Classification, biosynthesis, and applications","volume":"23","author":"Tang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Plant Biotechnol. 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