The invention provides aldolases, nucleic acids encoding them and methods
for making and using them, including chemoenzymatic processes for making
.beta.,.delta.-dihydroxyheptanoic acid side chains and compositions
comprising these side chains, e.g.,
[R--(R*,R*)]-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-b,d-dihydroxy-5-(1-methylethyl)-3-phenyl--
4-(phenylamino)-carbonyl]-1H-pyrrole-1-heptanoic acid (atorvastatin,
LIPITOR.TM.), rosuvastatin (CRESTOR.TM.), fluvastatin (LESCOL.TM.),
related compounds and their intermediates.