Induction of a Mutant, Monascus anka 732Y3 from Monascus anka KFCC 11832 and its Morphological Observations

Monascus anka 732Y3 was induced from Monascus anka KFCC 11832 (IFO 4478, ATCC 16360) by ultra-violet light irradiation. The growth of this new fungus is frequently more dependent on sexual propagation than asexual propagation, compared with that of its parental strain, M. anka KFCC 11832. Less conidia than those of M. anka KFCC 11832 were observed by a microscope. The optical density of the red pigments ($OD_{500}$) produced by M. anka 732Y3 was 157, which was about 10 times higer than that of M. anka KFCC 11832. Such high production of the red pigments by the mutant could be explained by the following observations.