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We investigated the roles of two <i>Ferrochelatases (FC</i>s), which encode the terminal enzyme for heme biosynthesis, in drought and oxidative stress tolerance in model cereal plant barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>). Three independent transgenic lines ectopically overexpressing either barley <i>FC1</i> or <i>FC2</i> were selected and evaluated under well-watered, drought, and oxidative stress conditions. Both <i>HvFC1</i> and <i>HvFC2</i> overexpressing transgenics showed delayed wilting and maintained higher photosynthetic performance relative to controls, after exposure to soil dehydration. In each case, <i>HvFC</i> overexpression significantly upregulated the nuclear genes associated with detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon drought stress. Overexpression of <i>HvFC</i>s, also suppressed photo-oxidative damage induced by the deregulated tetrapyrrole biosynthesis mutant <i>tigrina^d12</i>. Previous studies suggest that only <i>FC1</i> is implicated in stress defense responses, however, our study demonstrated that both <i>FC1</i> and <i>FC2</i> affect drought stress tolerance. As FC-derived free heme was proposed as a chloroplast-to-nuclear signal, heme could act as an important signal, stimulating drought responsive nuclear gene expression. This study also highlighted tetrapyrrole biosynthetic enzymes as potential targets for engineering improved crop performance, both in well-watered and water-limited environments.