This gene encodes the mitochondrial enzyme which is catalyzes the rate-limiting step in heme (iron-protoporphyrin) biosynthesis. The enzyme encoded by this gene is the housekeeping enzyme; a separate gene encodes a form of the enzyme that is specific for erythroid tissue. The level of the mature encoded protein is regulated by heme: high levels of heme down-regulate the mature enzyme in mitochondria while low heme levels up-regulate. A pseudogene of this gene is located on chromosome 12. Multiple alternatively spliced variants, encoding the same protein, have been identified. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2011]