Résumé
During their life cycle Plasmodium species rely on phospholipids to build the membranes necessary for daughter cell development. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine together represent about 85% of total membrane lipids, and inhibition of their biosynthesis leads to parasite death. This chapter summarizes the current findings on the essential roles, the mechanisms of action, and the structures of the enzymes involved. Particular emphasis is given to their potential use as drug targets in antimalarial therapy by structure‐based drug design approaches. The chapter provides a detailed account of the enzymes involved in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis pathways in Plasmodium. It focuses on their mechanisms of catalysis as well as the in‐depth characterization of the enzyme's structural features. The example of the bis‐thiazolium class of compounds that targets PC biosynthesis proves that the development of Kennedy pathway inhibitors can be a powerful strategy in the battle against malaria.