A research program is described that will continue biosynthetic studies with the nocardicins, the prototype monocyclic Beta-lactam antibiotic, and clavulanic acid, a potent inhibitor of bacterial beta-lactamases. These studies are to be extended to the remarkable antipodal clavams and to the medicinally important carbapenems using carbapenem-3-carboxylic acid as the experimental system. In collaboration with workers at Eli Lilly, biosynthetic investigation of the glycopeptide antibiotics represented by vancomycin will be initiated. The potential role of beta-oxidized amino acids will be examined in clavulanic acid, carbapenems (and gamma-oxidized in clavams) and further developed in new studies of the C-nucleoside antibiotics showdomycin and pyrazofurin.