Figure 2.

Known heme degradation mechanisms. The arthropods Ae. aegypti and R. prolixus have alternate heme degradation mechanisms from the shared mechanism of humans, mice and many other organisms. All three mechanisms are detailed above. Enzymes utilized for each reaction are given in red, with unknown enzymes indicated (?). The order in which the modifications are sequentially added to the intermediates in both the Ae. aegypti and R. prolixus mechanisms is not known, however only one method is detailed here for simplicity. The structural drawings shown here were made using BIOVIA 2017 R2 (Dassault Systemes, San Diego).