Introduction
Fatty acids play crucial roles in the function and viability of
cells providing components for biological membranes, acting
as chemical messengers and facilitating the storage of energy.
The biosynthesis of fatty acids follows an iterative process of
condensation and elongation of acetate (in the form of malonate),
which is undertaken by a sequence of enzymatic steps
either in the context of a single multifunctional protein
(Type I fatty acid synthase) in animals and fungi or a dissociable
multienzyme system (Type II FAS) in plants, bacteria and