The Fatty Acid Factory of Yeasts

摘要

In the cytoplasm of yeasts,fungi,and animals,fatty acids are synthesized by very large protein complexes.In two recent publications,the closely related X-ray structures of the 2.6-megadalton fatty acids synthases (FAS) of the fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus and of yeast were determined with a 3.1-A resolution.A 4-A structure of the yeast enzyme gave additional insights.The structures allow a deeper understanding of how these giant molecular factories work.