Editing Mevalonate pathway (section)

==Alternative pathway ==
[[Plants]], most [[bacteria]], and some [[protozoa]] such as [[malaria]] parasites have the ability to produce [[isoprenoids]] using an alternative pathway called the [[Non-mevalonate pathway|methylerythritol phosphate (MEP)]] or [[non-mevalonate pathway]].<ref name="MEP"/> The output of both the mevalonate pathway and the MEP pathway are the same, IPP and DMAPP, however the enzymatic reactions to convert acetyl-CoA into IPP are entirely different. Interaction between the two metabolic pathways can be studied by using <sup>13</sup>C-glucose [[isotopomers]].<ref name="13C">{{cite journal |vauthors=Orsi E, Beekwilder J, Peek S, Eggink G, Kengen SW, Weusthuis RA | title=Metabolic flux ratio analysis by parallel 13C labeling of isoprenoid biosynthesis in ''Rhodobacter sphaeroides'' | journal=Metabolic Engineering | year= 2020 | volume=57 | pages=228–238 | pmid= 31843486 | doi=10.1016/j.ymben.2019.12.004| doi-access=free }}</ref> In higher plants, the MEP pathway operates in [[plastids]] while the mevalonate pathway operates in the [[cytosol]].<ref name="MEP"/> Examples of bacteria that contain the MEP pathway include ''[[Escherichia coli]]'' and pathogens such as ''[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]]''.