The Fe-S cluster assembly NFS1-ISD11-FH subcomplex is involved in heme biosynthesis in plants.

In Arabidopsis thaliana leaves, non-covalently bound heme content tracks AtNFS1 expression, changing by roughly 30% across T-DNA insertion mutants and overexpression lines.

• Why it matters: Plants need heme for hemoproteins, but how mitochondrial ISC assembly machinery connects to heme synthesis is unclear.
• What they did: The study used AtNFS1 T-DNA insertion mutants and overexpression lines, measured leaf heme and catalase activity, and performed rescue tests in isolated mutant mitochondria with hemin versus protoporphyrin IX.
• The result: Catalase activity shifted with heme levels without changes in CAT1-3 expression, and hemin nearly fully restored activity while protoporphyrin IX did not; reducing AtFH lowered heme and catalase activity, with an additive negative effect alongside reduced AtNFS1.

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