The effect of dissolved oxygen concentration control on cell growth and antibiotic retamycin production in Streptomyces olindensis So20 fermentations

Cell growth and retamycin production in Streptomyces olindensis So20 were studied at different dissolved oxygen levels during fermentation. The profiles for cell growth and retamycin production in an experiment with dissolved oxygen control at 5% air saturation during production were similar to those in an experiment without dissolved oxygen control. However, despite slower cell growth, a twofold increase in the final retamycin concentration was achieved when dissolved oxygen was controlled at 100% during the growth phase, compared to a base experiment (no DO control). Therefore, the results revealed that retamycin production was dependent on dissolved oxygen concentration during the growth phase, even with sufficient oxygen. On the other hand, a large oxygen supply during the production phase did not contribute to an improvement in retamycin production.