Labeling experiments using [1-13C]acetate or [1-13C]glucose were performed with opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, with innocuous bacteria related to pathogenic species or with phytopathogenic species. The labeling pattern was determined in the isoprenic moiety of ubiquinone or menaquinone derivatives. These experiments showed that Acinetobacter, Citrobacter, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Ralstonia and Mycobacterium synthesize their isoprenoids via the mevalonate-independent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate/pyruvate route. Enzymes of this novel bacterial metabolic route, which is apparently absent in vertebrates and man, therefore represent potential targets for a novel type of antibacterial drugs.