acetyl and malonyl-ACP, respectively. The acetyl-ACP acts as a priming unit for the decarboxylative condensation with malonyl-CoA catalyzed by a ketoacyl synthase (KS) protein. The resulting acetoacetyl ACP is the simplest polyketide produced by this pathway, and it is subsequently condensed with six more malonyl-ACP units before cyclizing.

The elongation stage consists