A Genetically Encoded FRET Sensor for Intracellular Heme

Abstract

Heme plays pivotal roles in various cellular processes as well as in iron homeostasis in living systems. Here, we report a genetically encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor for selective heme imaging by employing a pair of bacterial heme transfer chaperones as the sensory components. This heme-specific probe allows spatial-temporal visualization of intracellular heme distribution within living cells.