Iron sulfur cluster biosynthesis protein family

In molecular biology, the iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis protein family of includes proteins involved in biogenesis of Fe-S clusters (iron-sulfur cluster insertion protein, Fe/S biogenesis protein). This family includes IscA, HesB, YadR and YfhF-like proteins. The hesB gene is expressed only under nitrogen fixation conditions. IscA, an 11 kDa member of the hesB family of proteins, binds iron and [2Fe-2S] clusters, and participates in the biosynthesis of iron-sulfur proteins. IscA is able to bind at least 2 iron ions per dimer. Other members of this family include various hypothetical proteins that also contain the NifU-like domain suggesting that they too are able to bind iron and are involved in Fe-S cluster biogenesis. The HesB family are found in species as divergent as Homo sapiens (Human) and Haemophilus influenzae suggesting that these proteins are involved in basic cellular functions.