Patent ID: 7288367

Claim:
A method for screening chemical libraries for the presence or absence of inhibition of the biosynthesis of isoprenoids by blocking the biosynthetic conversion of 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclopyrophosphate to isopentyl pyrophosphate (IPP) or dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP), comprising: (a) preparing an aqueous mixture comprising intact or lysed plastids or bacterial cells, 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclopyrophosphate and a divalent metal salt; (b) reacting said mixture for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature; (c) detecting the amount of conversion of 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclopyrophosphate to IPP or DMAPP by measuring the amount of consumption of 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclopyrophosphate; (d) repeating steps (a) to (c) in the presence of a test sample of a chemical library; and (e) determining the presence or absence of inhibition in step (d) by ascertaining whether or not the detected amount of conversion of 2C-methyl-D-erythsitol 2,4-cyclopyrophosphate to IPP to DMAPP is lower in the presence of the test sample.