The program is concerned with the synthesis of chorismic acid and other dihydroaromatic derivatives that are intermediates in the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids and growth factors in microorganisms, fungi, and higher plants. Analogs of chorismic acid will also be prepared to search for substances that act as irreversible inhibitors of enzymes that metabolize chorismic acid in the hope that such inhibitors may be useful drugs or plant growth regulators.