Cytidine diphosphate, abbreviated CDP, is a nucleoside diphosphate. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside cytidine. CDP consists of the pyrophosphate group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase cytosine.
In Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, CDP-activated glycerol and ribitol are necessary to build wall teichoic acid.
In Rhodothermus marinus, CDP-activated inositol is necessary to form the phospholipid dialkylether glycerophosphoinositide, which contains inositol phosphate and ether-linked alkyl chains.[1]
CDP is commonly formed in the reaction Dolichol + Cytidine Triphosphate (CTP) ⟶ Dolichol-phosphate + CDP, which is prevalent in many biochemical pathways.[2]