The Entner–Doudoroff pathway (ED pathway) describes a pathway—a series of enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions—that are active in bacterial primary metabolism, a pathway that catabolizes glucose to pyruvic acid using enzymes distinct either from those used in glycolysis or the pentose phosphate pathway (the latter two being most widely used in the Bacteria). The ED pathway was first reported by Michael Doudoroff and Nathan Entner from the Bacteriology Department at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952.[1] Recent work on the Entner–Duodoroff pathway has shown that its use is not restricted to prokaryotes as was previously thought. Specifically, there is direct evidence that Hordeum vulgare uses the Entner–Doudoroff pathway.[2] Use of the Entner–Duodoroff pathway among other plants such as mosses and ferns is also probably widespread based on preliminary sequencing data analysis.[2]