There are two principal classes of fatty acid synthases. 
* Type I systems utilise a single large, multifunctional polypeptide and are common to both animals and fungi (although the structural arrangement of fungal and animal syntheses differ). A Type I fatty acid synthase system is also found in the CMN group of bacteria (corynebacteria, mycobacteria, and nocardia). In these bacteria, the FAS I system produces palmitic acid, and cooperates with the FAS II system to produce a greater diversity of lipid products.
* Type II is found in archaea, bacteria and plant plastids, and is characterized by the use of discrete, monofunctional enzymes for fatty acid synthesis. Inhibitors of this pathway (FASII) are being investigated as possible antibiotics.
The mechanism of FAS I and FAS II elongation and reduction is the same, as the domains of the FAS II enzymes are largely homologous to their domain counterparts in FAS I multienzyme polypeptides. However, the differences in the organization of the enzymes - integrated in FAS I, discrete in FAS II - gives rise to many important biochemical differences.
The evolutionary history of fatty acid synthases are very much intertwined with that of polyketide synthases (PKS). Polyketide synthases use a similar mechanism and homologous domains to produce secondary metabolite lipids. Furthermore, polyketide synthases also exhibit a Type I and Type II organization. FAS I in animals is thought to have arisen through modification of PKS I in fungi, whereas FAS I in fungi and the CMN group of bacteria seem to have arisen separately through the fusion of FAS II genes.