In mammalian and yeast cells, two different pathways are known for the de novo synthesis of PA, the glycerol 3-phosphate pathway or the dihydroxyacetone phosphate pathway. In bacteria, only the former pathway is present, and mutations that block this pathway are lethal, demonstrating the importance of PA. In mammalian and yeast cells, where the enzymes in these pathways are redundant, mutation of any one enzyme is not lethal. However, it is worth noting that "in vitro", the various acyltransferases exhibit different substrate specificities with respect to the acyl-CoAs that are incorporated into PA. Different acyltransferases also have different intracellular distributions, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the mitochondria or peroxisomes, and local concentrations of activated fatty acids. This suggests that the various acyltransferases present in mammalian and yeast cells may be responsible for producing different pools of PA.