Breeding of Monascus with high-yield yellow pigment by 24 well-plate assay combining with mutation

Monascus F9-2 was used as the original strain;then the high-yield yellow pigment of Monascus Y16 strain was obtained by UV(130 s) and Li Cl(0.1%) complex mutation combining with the 24 well-plate assay.The results showed that the yellow pigment value of Monascus Y16 could reach 488 U/m L and the value was37.1% higher than the starting strain. The stable genotype was verified through ten times of transferring of culture and was hence a fine strain for producing high-yield yellow pigment.