Nikkomycins: Microbial inhibitors of chitin synthase

Production of nikkomycins by Streptomyces tendae is dependent on phosphate concentration, pH and the presence of precursors or regulatory factors in the medium. In a batch‐feeding system the production of antibiotically active nikkomycins could be increased up to 3 g dm−3. The selective production of single compounds was possible by feeding precursors or using mutants of Streptomyces tendae. The whole qualitative and quantitative determination of nikkomycins was carried out with ion‐pair reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.).