Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of Drosophila melanogaster ferrochelatase

Ferrochelatase (protoheme ferrolyase, E.C. 4.99.1.1), the terminal enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes the insertion of ferrous iron into protoporphyrin IX to form protoheme. In eukaryotes, the protein is associated with the inner surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane, and in higher animals the enzyme contains a [2Fe-2S] cluster. This cluster is highly sensitive to NO and is coordinated by four Cys residues whose spacing in the primary sequence is unique. Ferrochelatase from Drosophila melanogaster has been expressed in Escherichia coli with an amino-terminal six-histidine tag and purified to homogeneity. The protein has been crystallized with the [2Fe-2S] cluster intact. The crystals belong to space group I422, with unit-cell dimensions a = b = 158.1, c = 171.2 Angstrom and two molecules in the asymmetric unit, and diffract to 3.0 Angstrom resolution.