Abstract:Abstract：Morphological differentiation characters such as colony, sporotrichial, and conidiophores of mutant H15, which was derived from Streptomyces viridochromogenes 4.1119 treated with 60Co γrays irradiation, were investigated by scanning electron microscope and fluorescence microscope. The results showed that mutant H15 was remarkable variation from the strain 4.1119. Cultured on agar surface, H15 had a grayish-whitish-green colony, linear sporotrichial, smooth and round conidiophore without any spike, whereas strain 4.1119 had spiral sporotrichial and round conidiophore with spike on the surface. In the submerged cultures, differentiation process of mycelia pellet of H15 was also different. Spores germinated as a compartmentalized mycelium, the young compartmentalized mycelium started to form pellets which grew in a radial pattern. After apoptosis took place in the center of the pellets, the pellet diameter growth arrested. Compared with the strain 4.1119, H15 required a long developing course for hyphae clustering and pellets formation (at 48h ,245μm). The stage of pellet arrest or apoptosis in the pellet centre were extended, which would benefit the avilamycin accumulation since the antibiotic was mainly produced at the same time. These suggested that pellet formation kinetics, relational balance between pellet diameter enlargement and mycelia apoptosis in the pellet arrest stage were key factors to avilamyin accumulation in submerged cultures of Streptomyces viridoehrongenes H15.