Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity is one major defense line against oxidative stress for all of the aerobic organisms, and industrial production of this enzyme is highly demanded. The Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene (KmSOD1) of Kluyveromyces marxianus L3 was cloned and characterized. The deduced KmSod1p protein shares 86% and 71% of identity with Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sod1p, respectively. The characteristic motifs and the amino acid residues involved in coordinating copper and zinc and in enzymatic function were conserved. To the aim of developing a microbial production of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, we engineered the K. marxianus L3 strain with the multicopy plasmid YG-KmSOD1 harboring the KmSOD1 gene. The production of KmSOD1p in K. marxianus L3 and K. marxianus L3 (pYG-KmSOD1) in response to different compositions of the culture medium was evaluated. The highest specific activity (472 U-SOD mg(prot)(-1)) and the highest volumetric yield (8.8 x 10(5) U-SOD l(-1)) were obtained by the recombinant strain overexpressing KmSOD1 in the presence of Cu2+ and Zn2+ supplements to the culture media. The best performing culture conditions were positively applied to a laboratory scale fed-batch process reaching a volumetric yield of 1.4 x 10(6) U-SOD l(-1).