Coenzyme A (CoA) functions as a carrier of acetyl and acyl groups in cells and thus plays an important role in numerous synthetic and degradative metabolic pathways in all organisms. In eukaryotes, CoA and its derivatives are also involved in membrane trafficking and signal transduction. This gene encodes the bifunctional protein coenzyme A synthase (CoAsy) which carries out the last two steps in the biosynthesis of CoA from pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). The phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase domain of this bifunctional protein catalyzes the conversion of 4'-phosphopantetheine into dephospho-coenzyme A (dpCoA) while its dephospho-CoA kinase domain completes the final step by phosphorylating dpCoA to form CoA. Mutations in this gene are associated with neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). Alternative splicing results in multiple isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2014].