Biosynthesis of pantothenate.

Pantothenate is an essential metabolite for all biological systems, however, the biosynthetic pathway is limited to plants, eubacteria and archaea. This suggests that the pathway is a strong candidate for the discovery of novel antibiotic and herbicidal compounds. The enzymology of this short pathway in both bacteria and plants is discussed in detail. In addition a short survey of studies of the whole pathway, and a discussion of both the metabolism and the transport of pantothenate are included.