During its late steps, the mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly machinery leads to the formation of [4Fe-4S] clusters. In vivo studies revealed that several proteins are implicated in the biosynthesis and trafficking of [4Fe-4S] clusters in mitochondria. However, they do not provide a clear picture into how these proteins cooperate. Here, we showed that three late-acting components of the mitochondrial ISC assembly machinery (GLRX5, BOLA3, and NFU1) are part of a ISC assembly pathway leading to the synthesis of a [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster on NFU1. We showed that the [2Fe-2S] 2+ GLRX5-BOLA3 complex transfers its cluster to monomeric apo NFU1 to form, in the presence of a reductant, a [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster bound to dimeric NFU1. The cluster formation on NFU1 does not occur with [2Fe-2S] 2+ GLRX5, and thus, the [4Fe-4S] cluster assembly pathway is activated only in the presence of BOLA3. These results define NFU1 as an 'assembler' of [4Fe-4S] clusters, that is, a protein able of converting two [2Fe-2S] 2+ clusters into a [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster. Finally, we found that the [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster bound to NFU1 has a coordination site which is easily accessible to sulfur-containing ligands, as is typically observed in metallochaperones. This finding supports a role for NFU1 in promoting rapid and controlled cluster-exchange reaction.Abbreviations BMRB, biological magnetic resonance bank; Fe-S, iron-sulfur; GSH, reduced glutathione; HADDOCK, high ambiguity-driven protein-protein docking; HSQC, heteronuclear single quantum coherence; IPTG, isopropyl b-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside; ISC, iron-sulfur cluster; LB, Luria-Bertani; NOE, nuclear overhauser effect; OD, optical density; R 1 , longitudinal relaxation rate; R 2 , transverse relaxation rate; SAXS, smallangle X-ray scattering; SEC-MALS, size exclusion chromatography combined with multiangle light scattering; TCEP, tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine.