Function
Pantothenate synthetase or pantoate-beta-alanine ligase (PS) catalyzes the ATP-dependent condensation of pantoate and β-alanine to form pantothenate[1].
Relevance
Pantothenate (vitamin B5) biosynthesis is essential for the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis thus its blockage can be used as a potential drug target[2].
Structural highlights
PS . In this structure the pantoate substrate electron density is well defined in one subunit while the nucleotide electron density is well defined in the other[3]. Water molecules are shown as red spheres.