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The effect of the nucleoside-peptide antibiotics nikkomycin Z, nikkomycin X, and polyoxin A was tested on chitosomal chitin synthetase from yeast cells of the dimorphic fungus Mucor rouxii. The K was 0.6 μM for polyoxin A and 0.5 μM for nikkomycin X; nikkomycin Z was slightly less inhibitory ( K=3.5μM). Whereas the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the nikkomycins for growth and germination were quite low (about 1μM, or lower), polyoxin A displayed no antifungal activity against yeast cells and sporangiospores of the test organism, even when present in high concentrations. These results are discussed with respect to structure/activity relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]