RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Taurine, a semi-essential micronutrient, could be utilized as a sulfur source for some bacteria; however, little is known about its effect on the accumulation of fermentation products. Here, it investigated the effect of taurine on co-production of bioethanol and Monascus azaphilone pigments (MonAzPs) for a fungus. RESULTS: A newly isolated fungus of 98.92% identity with Monascus purpureus co-produced 23.43 g/L bioethanol and 66.12, 78.01 and 62.37 U/mL red, yellow and orange MonAzPs for 3 d in synthetic medium (SM). Taurine enhanced bioethanol titer, ethanol productivity and ethanol yield at the maximum by 1.56, 1.58 and 1.60 times than those of the control in corn stover hydrolysates (CSH), and red, yellow and orange MonAzPs were raised by 1.24, 1.26 and 1.29 times, respectively. Taurine was consumed extremely small quantities for M. purpureus and its promotional effect was not universal for the other two biorefinery fermenting strains. Taurine intensified the gene transcription of glycolysis (glucokinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase and alcohol dehydrogenase) and MonAzPs biosynthesis (serine hydrolases, C-11-ketoreductase, FAD-dependent monooxygenase, 4-O-acyltransferase, deacetylase, NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoredutase, FAD-dependent oxidoredutase, enoyl reductase and fatty acid synthase) through de novo RNA-Seq assays. Furthermore, taurine improved cell membrane permeability through changing cell membrane structure by microscopic imaging assays. CONCLUSIONS: Taurine reinforced co-production of bioethanol and MonAzPs by increasing gene transcription level and cell membrane permeability for M. purpureus. This work would offer an innovative, efficient and taurine-based co-production system for mass accumulation of the value-added biofuels and biochemicals from lignocellulosic biomass.