title: The Escherichia coli visA gene encodes ferrochelatase, the final enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway.
abstract: An Escherichia coli mutant with a disrupted visA gene was defective in ferrochelatase activity but expressed wild-type levels of protoporphyrinogen oxidase activity. The visA coding region was placed under the transcriptional control of T7 RNA polymerase in an E. coli expression system, and the product was expressed as a 38-kDa protein. The overexpressed protein was purified to near homogeneity and was found to contain ferrochelatase activity. The data show that the visA gene encodes ferrochelatase, and we propose that it be renamed hemH to reflect that conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Frustaci
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: O'Brian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D005294:Ferrochelatase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006418:Heme / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D006418:Heme; C062210:bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D005294:Ferrochelatase