In enzymology, a sirohydrochlorin ferrochelatase is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that catalyzes

Catalysis

Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....

 the chemical reaction

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...

siroheme + 2 H⁺ sirohydrochlorin + Fe²⁺

Thus, the two substrates

Substrate (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule upon which an enzyme acts. Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions involving the substrate. In the case of a single substrate, the substrate binds with the enzyme active site, and an enzyme-substrate complex is formed. The substrate is transformed into one or...

 of this enzyme are siroheme

Siroheme

Siroheme is a heme-like prosthetic group used by some enzymes to accomplish the six-electron reduction of sulfur and nitrogen...

 and H⁺

Hydrogen ion

Hydrogen ion is recommended by IUPAC as a general term for all ions of hydrogen and its isotopes.Depending on the charge of the ion, two different classes can be distinguished: positively charged ions and negatively charged ions....

, whereas its two products

Product (chemistry)

Product are formed during chemical reactions as reagents are consumed. Products have lower energy than the reagents and are produced during the reaction according to the second law of thermodynamics. The released energy comes from changes in chemical bonds between atoms in reagent molecules and...

 are sirohydrochlorin and Fe²⁺

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

.

This enzyme belongs to the family of lyase

Lyase

In biochemistry, a lyase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breaking of various chemical bonds by means other than hydrolysis and oxidation, often forming a new double bond or a new ring structure...

s, to be specific the "catch-all" class of lyases that do not fit into any other sub-class. The systematic name of this enzyme class is siroheme ferro-lyase (sirohydrochlorin-forming). Other names in common use include CysG, Met8P, SirB, and sirohydrochlorin ferro-lyase (incorrect). This enzyme participates in porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism.