The antimalarial compound fosmidomycin targets DXR, the enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step in the MEP pathway, producing the essential isoprenoid precursors, isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. The MEP pathway is used by a number of pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and apicomplexan parasites, and differs from the classical mevalonate pathway that is essential in humans. Using a ...