Retamycin is an anthracyclinic antitumoral complex produced by Streptomyces olindensis ICB20. In this work the influence of different glucose concentrations in the feed medium on the production of retamycin was studied. Chemostat cultures employing glucose concentration varying between 10 g/L and 25 g/L showed that use of high glucose concentration resulted in catabolite repression of the biosynthesis of the antitumoral. The highest specific retamycin production rate, qRTM = 7.8 mg/g.h, was obtained when glucose concentration was 10 g/L. The lowest value of qRTM, 2.5 mg/g.h, was observed when glucose concentration was 20 and 25 g/L. The residual glucose concentration varied from 0 to 13 g/L, as the glucose concentration in the feed was increased from 10 to 25 g/L.

The aim of the present work was to assay the influence of different nutrient limitation on the production of retamycin by Streptomyces olindensis ICB20. A series of continuous cultures was performed using carbon-limited, phosphate-limited or nitrogen-limited media, varying the dilution rate (D) between 0.025 and 0.075 h-1. The analysis of the cultures data showed that the production of retamycin was favored under phosphate limitation, resulting in values of specific production rate (qRTM) as high as 9.2 mg/g.h at D=0.075 h-1 , additionally, qRTM varied linearly with D, hence, with the specific growth rate; however such relationship was not observed in carbonlimited neither nitrogen-limited cultures. The use of nitrogen-limited medium led to the lowest production rates, with a maximum value of 4.2 mg/g.h at D=0.043 h-1. Cultures using carbon-limited medium resulted in intermediary values of qRTM, varying between 3.0 and 6.6 mg/g.h. The highest values of biomass yield (Y X/GLC) were obtained in cultures using carbon-limited medium, approximately 0.40, while under nitrogen and phosphate limitation, Y X/GLC varied around 0.30. To study the effect of different glucose concentration in the feed medium, continuous cultures using phosphate-limited medium with glucose concentration varying between 10 g/L and 25 g/L were performed. The culture results showed that the use of glucose concentration higher than 10 g/L in the feeding medium led to lower production of retamycin, possibly due to catabolic repression. The data of image analysis showed no clear relation between nutrient limitation and morphology neither between objects dimensions and retamycin production. However, there seems to be a relation between the percentage in area of different morphological classes and retamycin production, apparently the production is inversely proportional to the percentage of clumps.