RkMsn4, a zinc finger transcription factor, regulates carotenoid and lipid metabolism to enhance tolerance to environmental stress in Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae.

RkMsn4 enhances carotenoid and lipid metabolism, boosting stress tolerance in Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae YM25235 by 30-50% under various environmental stresses.

• Why it matters: Red yeasts are vital for producing valuable compounds like carotenoids and lipids, but environmental stresses hinder their industrial performance, limiting large-scale applications.
• What they did: Researchers compared RkMsn4’s regulatory functions under glucose starvation, low temperature, and salt stress using gene expression analysis and co-expression network techniques, identifying key metabolic pathways.
• The result: Findings reveal RkMsn4’s role in activating antioxidant defenses and membrane remodeling, offering targets to improve stress resilience and metabolic output in industrial red yeast processes.