Expression and purification of \kur{Synechocystis} ferrochelatase from \kur{Escherichia coli}

Ferrochelatase (FeCH) is an ubiquitous enzyme producing heme, an essential pigment for all forms of organisms. In photosynthetic organism, heme is synthesized together with the chlorophyll in one branched pathway and the FeCH enzyme appears to be important for regulation of both the chlorophyll and the heme biosynthesis. To understand regulatory role of this protein, an active recombinant FeCH from photosynthetic organism would be invaluable. The aim of this project is to express FeCH from cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803 in Escherichia coli and to prepare a protocol for the purification of this protein as a highly active enzyme.