Claisen condensations, iterative

Nature gives us some illustrative examples of iterative methodologies in its biochemical mechanisms. The fatty acid-polyketide biosynthesis is one of them. The assembly of acyl units by sequential Claisen-type condensations to form a polyketide or fatty acid takes place at a multi-enzyme complex, at which the initial molecule is lengthened by one C2-unit per pass of a reaction cycle (Fig. 2). 

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