A novel strain, Streptomyces padanus PMS-702, was employed to produce fungichromin (FC, a polyene macrolide antibiotic) in a shake flask cultivation. In comparing the effects of various carbon and nitrogen sources on PMS-702 cultivation, it was found that glucose and soybean meal medium yielded the highest FC within 2 days. Factors such as medium composition, cultivation temperatures, and initial pH were optimized for FC production with response surface methodology (RSM).The optimal cultural condition obtained is as follows: glucose 11.2 g/L, soybean meal 11.2 g/L, CaCO3 0.46 g/L, temperature 31.7 degrees C, and an initial pH 5.5. Under these conditions, FC production reached 112 mg/L, about an increase of 2.86 times, as compared to results under basic conditions. (C) 2007 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.