Cellular fatty acids composition of the genusMonascus

The cellular fatty acid composition of the genus Monascus (13 spp., 2 var., 36 strains) was analyzed by gaschromatography. The fatty acid composition of all tested 36 strains shows high similarity. The major components of fatty acids are C18:1, C18:2, C16:0, C18:0, and C16:1. No strict correlation between the characteristics of the genus Monascus and the fatty acid composition could be found. However, some strains differ from the others. These results suggested that the fatty acids composition ratio could also be a powerful method for taxonomic studies. Moreover, the fatty acid compositions of all Monascus spp. were clearly different from those of Aspergillus oryzae IAM 2600, A. niger IAM 2020, Penicillium notatum IAM 7168 and Paecilomyces variotii IF0 4855.