Characterization of the complex involved in regulating V-ATPase activity of the vacuolar and endosomal membrane

Regulator of the H⁺-ATPase of the vacuolar and endosomal membranes (RAVE) is essential for the reversible assembly of H⁺-ATPase. RAVE primarily consists of three subunits: Rav1p, Rav2p and Skp1p. To characterize these subunits, in this study, four strains derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4742 were constructed with a FLAG tag on the Rav1p and Rav2p subunits. Then, the corresponding RAVE containing complex was isolated by affinity purification. Western blot and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analyses showed that the RAVE complex contains not only the known V₁-ATPase subunits (Vma1p and Vma2p) but also a newly found Leu1p that interacts with the RAVE subunit. Furthermore, we constructed rav1?/rav2?/vma2?/leu1-deficient recombinants by fusion PCR and homologous recombination and demonstrated that leu1 is indispensable in adjusting the microbial cell to adverse environments and that the function is similar to that of rav1/rav2 but significantly differs from that of vma2. Leu1p probably plays an important role in RAVE regulation of V-ATPase activity in conjunction with RAVE.