Q.Name a microbe used for statin production. How do statins lower blood cholesterol level?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Statins are produced commercially from the fungus Monascus purpureus and work by blocking HMG-CoA reductase, the key rate-limiting enzyme of the body's cholesterol synthesis pathway.
Microbe: Statins (blood-cholesterol-lowering drugs) are commercially produced using the yeast/fungus Monascus purpureus, grown by fermentation.
Mechanism of action: Cholesterol is synthesized in the liver via a metabolic pathway whose rate-limiting step is catalysed by the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase). Statins closely resemble the natural substrate of this enzyme in structure, so they act as competitive inhibitors - they bind to the active site of HMG-CoA reductase, blocking it from converting HMG-CoA to mevalonate (an early step in cholesterol biosynthesis). This lowers the rate of endogen …
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