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Updated: May 11, 2026

Assessment of Submitochondrial Protein Localization in Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Published on: July 19, 2021
Mitochondrial localization of ferrochelatase in a red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae
Satoru Watanabe1, Mitsumasa Hanaoka, Yusaku Ohba
1Department of Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan.
Abstract:
Ferrochelatase (FECH) is an essential enzyme for the final step of heme biosynthesis. In green plants, its activity has been reported in both plastids and mitochondria. However, the precise subcellular localization of FECH remains uncertain. In this study, we analyzed the localization of FECH in the unicellular red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Immunoblot and enzyme activity analyses of subcellular fractions localized little FECH in the plastid. In addition, immunofluorescence microscopy identified that both intrinsic and hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged FECH are localized in the mitochondrion. We therefore conclude that FECH is localized in the mitochondrion in C. merolae.
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