β-Carotene production promoted by ethylene in Blakeslea trispora and the mechanism involved in metabolic responses

•This is the first research about the effect of ethylene on Blakeslea trispora.•β-carotene production was significantly promoted by ethylene.•Metabolic responses were analyzed by proteomics and metabonomics.•The accumulation acetyl-CoA contributed to the promotion of β-carotene.