Question

Question 8.3 Which would be the best pathway to target in an antibiotic made for people: glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, or the Entner-Doudoroff pathway? Why? Hint: Reread the preceding section, Other Catabolic Pathways for Oxidizing Nutrients.

Answer 1

Entner doudroff pathway.

Antibiotics are the drugs used against bacteria. Antibiotics should target only the bacteria , they should not attack human body. So a metabolic pathway should be selected which is present only in the bacterial cell and not in human cell. Glycolysis and Pentose phosphate pathway are present in bacteria and human where as Entner doudroff pathway is present only in bacteria. All the three pathways are Glucose metabolising pathways.

Entner doudroff pathway is present in gram negative bacteria and certain gram positive bacteria. The pathway involve the metabolism of glucose to pyruvate by the series of action of enzymes. keto-3-deoxygluconate-6-phosphate (KDPG) aldolase is the key enzyme in the pathway. The pathway use certain unique enzymes and is present only in the bacteria. So this is the best pathway that can be targeted by antibiotics. All the enzymes involved in this pathways can be targeted with out producing any side effects in human.