Enables pantothenate kinase activity. Acts upstream of or within several processes, including coenzyme A biosynthetic process; mitochondrion morphogenesis; and spermatid development. Located in cytosol and mitochondrion. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration. Orthologous to human PANK2 (pantothenate kinase 2). [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Apr 2022]