ABSTRACT
In an attempt to obtain an industrial strain with higher yield of wanlongmycin, the wild strain Streptomyces griseovariabilis GAAS2507 was mutated by a novel mutagen, nitrogen ion beam with energy of 20 kilo electron volts (KeV) and dose ranging from 7.80 x 10(14) to 2.86 x 10(15) ions/cm². One mutant strain WN939 was obtained. Its yield of wanlongmycin reached 271.24 µg/mL, which was 82.10 percent higher than that of the wild strain. The mutant strain WN939 was relatively stable for the production of wanlongmycin through six successive transfers of cultures and a repeat fermentation in a 30 L fermentor. In addition, the mutant strains were investigated and divided into five types by their colony phenotypes and production of wanlongmycin. Among them, three types mutant strains exhibited positive mutation, while the other two types mutant strains exhibited negative mutation.