Phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP), or phosphoenolpyruvate (2-phosphoenolpyruvate) as the anion, is an important chemical compound in biochemistry. It has the highest-energy phosphate bond found (-61.9 kJ/mol) in living organisms, and is involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. In plants, it is also involved in the biosynthesis of various aromatic compounds, and in carbon fixation; in bacteria, it is also used as the source of energy for the phosphotransferase system.