Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Monascus
Sign in to saveMonascus is a genus of mold. Among the known species of this genus, the red-pigmented Monascus purpureus is among the most important because of its use in the production of certain fermented foods in East Asia, particularly China and Japan. It has also been found associated with the nests of some bee species, particularly bumblebees and sweat bees though its function in these environments is unclear.
Species
Genus
- PhylumAscomycota
- ClassEurotiomycetes
- OrderEurotiales
- FamilyMonascaceae
via
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 34
- With media
- 2
- Family
- Monascaceae
- Collections
- BPI, NEB, MU, UFPE
- Recorded in
- United States, Indonesia, ?
Research
1,351 papers- Monascus pigments.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2012
- Monascus rice products.Advances in food and nutrition research · 2007
- Synthetic biology for Monascus: From strain breeding to industrial production.Biotechnology journal · 2024
- Purified Monascus Pigments: Biological Activities and Mechanisms of Action.Journal of natural products · 2025
- Natural pigment from Monascus: The production and therapeutic significance.Journal of applied microbiology · 2022
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Monascaceae
- Image
- The botanical magazine = Shokubutsugaku zasshi (1901) (20374970866).jpg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Monascus
- taxon name
- Monascus
- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon author citation
- Tiegh.
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Species
- Phylogeny
- Monascus pigments and biosynthesis
- References
Monascus is a genus of mold. Among the known species of this genus, the red-pigmented Monascus purpureus is among the most important because of its use in the production of certain fermented foods in East Asia, particularly China and Japan. It has also been found associated with the nests of some bee species, particularly bumblebees and sweat bees though its function in these environments is unclear.
==Species== Monascus albidulus Monascus argentinensis Monascus aurantiacus Monascus barkeri Monascus eremophilus Monascus flavipigmentosus Monascus floridanus Monascus fumeus Monascus lunisporas Monascus mellicola Monascus mucoroides Monascus olei Monascus pallens Monascus paxii Monascus pilosus Monascus purpureus Monascus recifensis Monascus ruber Monascus rutilus Monascus sanguineus Monascus vini
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Monascus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.