Oxidative stress response and morphological changes of Blakeslea trispora induced by butylated hydroxytoluene during carotene production.

The adaptive response of the fungus Blakeslea trispora to the oxidative stress induced by butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) during carotene production in shake flask culture was investigated. The culture response to oxidative stress was studied by measuring the specific activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the micromorphology of the fungus using a computerized image analysis system. The addition of exogenous BHT to the medium caused changes of the morphology of microorganism from aggregates with large projected area to aggregates with small projected area. This morphological differentiation of the fungus was associated with high oxidative stress as evidenced by remarkable increase of the specific activities of CAT and SOD. The oxidative stress in B. trispora resulted in a fivefold increase of carotene production. The highest concentration of carotenes (125.0 mg/g dry biomass) was obtained in culture grown in medium supplemented with 20 mM of BHT.