The DCCD-reactive aspartyl-residue of subunit C from the Escherichia coli ATP-synthase is important for the conformation of F0

The effect of various point mutations in subunits a and and c of the E. coli ATP-synthase was characterized. In each of the mutants there was no F0-dependent H+-conduction, but still an ATPase-activity comparable to wildtype activities. In addition, the subunit b could be extracted from the mutant's F0 but not from the F0 of wildtype. The effects are interpreted as a change in the conformation of F0 caused by the different mutations.     

Membrane integration and function of the three F0 subunits of the ATP synthase of Escherichia coli K12

Integration into the cytoplasmic membrane and function of the three F0 subunits, a, b and c, of the membrane-bound ATP synthase of Escherichia coli K12 were analysed in situations where synthesis of only one or two types of subunits was possible. This was achieved by combined use of atp mutations and plasmids carrying and expressing one or two of the atp genes coding for ATP synthase subunits. AU three F0 subunits were found to be required for the establishment of efficient H+ conduction. Subunits a and b individually as well as together were found to bind F1 ATPase to the membrane while subunit c did not. The ATPase activity bound to either of these single subunits, or in pairwise combinations, was not inhibited by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Also ATP-dependent H+ translocation was not catalysed unless all three F0 subunits were present in the membrane. The integration into the membrane of the subunits a and b was independent of the presence of other ATP synthase subunits.     

Role of F0 and F1 subunits in the gating and coupling function of mitochondrial H(+)-ATP synthase. The effect of dithiol reagents.

A study is presented on the role of F0 and F1 subunits in oligomycin-sensitive H+ conduction and energy transfer reactions of bovine heart mitochondrial F0F1 H(+)-ATP synthase. Mild treatment with azodicarboxylic acid bis(dimethylamide) (diamide) enhanced oligomycin-sensitive H+ conduction in submitochondrial particles containing F1 attached to F0. This effect was associated with stimulation of the ATPase activity, with no effect on its inhibition by oligomycin, and depression of the 32Pi-ATP exchange. The stimulatory effect of diamide on H+ conduction decreased in particles from which F1 subunits were partially removed by urea. The stimulatory effect exerted by diamide in the submitochondrial particles with F1 attached to F0 was directly correlated with a decrease of the original electrophoretic bands of a subunit of F0 (F0I-PVP protein) and the gamma subunit of F1, with corresponding formation of their cross-linking product. In F0 liposomes, devoid of gamma subunit, diamide failed to stimulate H+ conduction and to cause disappearance of F0I-PVP protein, unless purified gamma subunit was added back. The addition to F0 liposomes of gamma subunit, but not that of alpha and beta subunits, caused per se inhibition of H+ conduction. It is concluded that F0I-PVP and gamma subunits are directly involved in the gate of the F0F1 H(+)-ATP synthase. Data are also presented indicating contribution to the gate of oligomycin-sensitivity conferral protein and of another protein subunit of F0, F6.     

The topology of the proton translocating F0 component of the ATP synthase from E. coli K12: studies with proteases

The accessibility of the three F0 subunits a, b and c from the Escherichia coli K12 ATP synthase to various proteases was studied in F1-depleted inverted membrane vesicles. Subunit b was very sensitive to all applied proteases. Chymotrypsin produced a defined fragment of mol. wt. 15,000 which remained tightly bound to the membrane. The cleavage site was located at the C-terminal region of subunit b. Larger amounts of proteases were necessary to attack subunit a (mol. wt. 30,000). There was no detectable cleavage of subunit c. It is suggested that the major hydrophilic part of subunit b extends from the membrane into the cytoplasm and is in contact with the F1 sector. The F1 sector was found to afford some protection against proteolysis of the b subunit in vitro and in vivo. Protease digestion had no influence on the electro-impelled H+ conduction via F0 but ATP-dependent H+ translocation could not be reconstituted upon binding of F1. A possible role for subunit b as a linker between catalytic events on the F1 component and the proton pathway across the membrane is discussed.     

All three subunits are required for the reconstitution of an active proton channel (F0) of Escherichia coli ATP synthase (F1F0).

The membrane-integrated, proton-translocating F0 portion of the ATP synthase (F1F0) from Escherichia coli is built up from three kinds of subunits a, b and c with the proposed stoichiometry of 1:2:10 +/- 1. We have dissociated the F0 complex by treatment with trichloroacetate (3 M) at pH 8.0, in the presence of deoxycholate (1%) and N-tetradecyl-N, N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (Zwittergent 3-14, 5%). The subunits were separated by gel filtration with trichloroacetate (1 M) included in the elution buffer. The homogeneity of the fractions was checked by rechromatography and SDS-gel electrophoresis. After integration into phospholipid vesicles each subunit alone as well as all possible combinations were tested for H+ translocating activity and binding of F1. A functional H+ channel could only be reconstituted by the combination a1b2c10 which corresponds to that of native F0.     

Structural and functional characterization of subunits of the F0 sector of the mitochondrial F0F1-ATP synthase.

Proteolytic digestion of F1-depleted submitochondrial particles (USMP), reconstitution with isolated subunits and titration with inhibitors show that the nuclear-encoded PVP protein, previously identified as an intrinsic component of bovine heart F0 (F01) (Zanotti, F. et al. (1988) FEBS Lett. 237, 9-14), is critically involved in maintaining the proper H+ translocating configuration of this sector and its correct binding to the F1 catalytic moiety. Trypsin digestion of USMP, under conditions leading to cleavage of the carboxyl region of the PVP protein and partial inhibition of transmembrane H+ translocation, results in general loss of sensitivity of this process to F0 inhibitors. This is restored by addition of the isolated PVP protein. Trypsin digestion of USMP causes also loss of oligomycin sensitivity of the catalytic activity of membrane reconstituted soluble F1, which can be restored by the combined addition of PVP and OSCP, or PVP and F6. Amino acid sequence analysis shows that, in USMP, modification by [14C] N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide of subunit c of F0 induces the formation of a dimer of this protein, which retains the 14C-labelled group. Chemical modification of cysteine-64 of subunit c results in inhibition of H+ conduction by F0. The results indicate that proton conduction in mitochondrial F0 depends on interaction of subunit c with the PVP protein.     

A unique resting position of the ATP-synthase from chloroplasts

The chloroplast ATP-synthase catalyzes ATP synthesis coupled to transmembrane proton transport. The enzyme consists of two parts, a membrane-embedded F(0) part and an extrinsic F(1) part, which are linked by two connectors. One of these rotates during catalysis and the other remains static. Although the atomic structures of various sub-complexes and individual subunits have been reported, only limited structural information on the complex, as a whole, is available. In particular, information on the static connector is lacking. We contribute a three-dimensional map at about 20-A resolution, derived from electron cryomicroscopy of enzymes embedded in vitrified buffer followed by single particle image analysis. In the three-dimensional map both connectors, between the F(1) part and the F(0) part, are clearly visible. The static connector is tightly attached to an alpha subunit and faces the side of the neighboring beta subunit. The three-dimensional map provides a scaffold for fitting in the known atomic structures of various subunits and sub-complexes, and suggests that the oxidized, non-activated ATP-synthase from chloroplasts adopts a unique resting position.     

Structural aspects of proton-pumping ATPases

ATP synthase is found in bacteria, chloroplasts and mitochondria. The simplest known example of such an enzyme is that in the eubacterium Escherichia coli; it is a membrane-bound assembly of eight different polypeptides assembled with a stoichiometry of alpha 3 beta 3 gamma 1 delta 1 epsilon 1 a1b2c10-12. The first five of these constitute a globular structure, F1-ATPase, which is bound to an intrinsic membrane domain, F0, an assembly of the three remaining subunits. ATP synthases driven by photosynthesis are slightly more complex. In chloroplasts, and probably in photosynthetic bacteria, they have nine subunits, all homologues of the components of the E. coli enzyme; the additional subunit is a duplicated and diverged relation of subunit b. The mammalian mitochondrial enzyme is more complex. It contains 14 different polypeptides, of which 13 have been characterized. Two membrane components, a (or ATPase-6) and A6L, are encoded in the mitochondrial genome in overlapping genes and the remaining subunits are nuclear gene products that are translated on cytoplasmic ribosomes and then imported into the organelle. The sequence of the proteins of ATP-synthase have provided information about amino acids that are important for its function. For example, amino acids contributing to nucleotide binding sites have been identified. Also, they provide the basis of models of secondary structure of membrane components that constitute the transmembrane proton channel. An understanding of the coupling of the transmembrane potential gradient for protons, delta mu H+, to ATP synthesis will probably require the determination of the structure of the entire membrane bound complex. Crystals have been obtained of the globular domain, F1-ATPase. They diffract to a resolution of 3-4 A and data collection is in progress. As a preliminary step towards crystallization of the entire complex, we have purified it from bovine mitochondria and reconstituted it into phospholipid vesicles.     

Mutants of Escherichia coli H+-ATPase defective in the delta subunit of F1 and the b subunit of F0

Complete nucleotide sequence of the genes for subunits of the H+ ATPase of E.coli has been determined and several hybrid plasmids carrying various portions of these genes have been constructed. Genetic complementation and recombination tests of about forty mutants of E.coli defective in the ATPase were performed using these plasmids for identifying the locations of the mutations. Two mutants defective in the delta subunit and a novel type of mutant defective in the b subunit of F0 were identified. The delta subunit mutants showed no proton conduction, suggesting that this subunit has an important role for the proton conduction. The ATPase of the b subunit mutant has a normal activity of proton channel portion, which phenotype is clearly different from that of mutants of the b subunit reported previously.     

Synthesis of a functional F0 sector of the Escherichia coli H+-ATPase does not require synthesis of the alpha or beta subunits of F1.

The uncB, E, F, and H genes of the Escherichia coli unc operon were cloned behind the lac promoter of plasmid pUC9, generating plasmid pBP101. These unc loci code, respectively, for the chi, omega, and psi subunits of the F0 sector and the delta subunit of the F1 sector of the H+-ATP synthase complex. Induction of expression of the four unc genes by the addition of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside resulted in inhibition of growth. During isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside induction, the three subunits of F0 were integrated into the cytoplasmic membrane with a resultant increase in H+ permeability. A functional F0 was formed from plasmid pBP101 in a genetic background lacking all eight of the unc structural genes coding the F1F0 complex. In the unc deletion background, a reasonable correlation was observed between the amount of F0 incorporated into the membrane and the function measured, i.e., high-affinity binding of F1 and rate of F0-mediated H+ translocation. This correlation indicates that most or all of the F0 assembled in the membrane is active. Although the F0 assembled under these conditions binds F1, only partial restoration of NADH-dependent or ATP-dependent quenching of quinacrine fluorescence was observed with these membranes. Proteolysis of a fraction of the psi subunit may account for this partial deficiency. The experiments described demonstrate that a functional F0 can be assembled in vivo in E. coli strains lacking genes for the alpha, beta, gamma, and epsilon subunits of F1.     

The definition of mitochondrial H+ ATPase assembly defects in mit- mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a monoclonal antibody to the enzyme complex as an assembly probe

mit- mutants with genetically defined mutations in the mitochondrial structural genes of the H+-ATPase membrane subunits 6, 8 and 9 were analysed to determine the H+-ATPase assembly defects that resulted as a consequence of the mutations. These include mutants which do not synthesize one of the membrane subunits and mutants which can synthesize these subunits, but in an altered form. Protein subunits which can still be assembled to the defective H+-ATPase in these mutants were determined by immunoprecipitation using a monoclonal antibody to the beta-subunit of the enzyme complex. The results suggest that the assembly pathway of the mitochondrially synthesized H+-ATPase subunits involves the sequential addition of subunits 9, 8 and 6 to a membrane-bound F1-sector. In addition to subunits of the F0- and F1-sectors, two other polypeptides (Mr = 18,000 and Mr = 25,000) are associated with the yeast H+-ATPase. These polypeptides were not observed in the immunoprecipitates obtained from mutants in which the F0-sector is not properly assembled.     

Purification and reconstitution of the F1F0-ATP synthase from alkaliphilic Bacillus firmus OF4. Evidence that the enzyme translocates H+ but not Na+

The F1F0-ATP synthase from the alkaliphilic Bacillus firmus OF4 was purified in a reconstitutively active form, in good yield and with a high specific ATPase activity when appropriately activated. The purification procedure involved octyl glucoside extraction of washed membrane vesicles in the presence of 20% glycerol and asolectin followed by ammonium sulfate fractionation and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The purified preparation was resolved into seven bands by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, corresponding to the five F1 subunits, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon, and to the b and c subunits of the F0. Two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly-acrylamide gel analysis revealed a candidate for the alpha subunit of F0. The MgATPase activity of B. firmus OF4 F1F0 was barely detectable but could be stimulated, optimally more than 100-fold, by sulfite, methanol, and octyl thioglucoside. The enzyme was inhibited by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and sodium azide, but not by aurovertin, an inhibitor of the F1 from Escherichia coli. The F1F0 reconstituted into proteoliposomes catalyzed ATPase activity, ATP-Pi exchange, and ATP-dependent delta pH and delta psi formation. ATP hydrolysis was stimulated by protonophores while the other activities were abolished by protonophores. These activities were neither dependent on added sodium ions nor significantly affected by them. F1F0 proteoliposomes made from crude octyl glucoside extracts that also contained the Na+/H+ antiporter were shown to catalyze ATP-dependent Na+ uptake that was completely sensitive to carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl-hydrazone; Na+ uptake activity was absent in proteoliposomes containing more purified F1F0 but lacking the Na+/H+ antiporter. These data show that the F1F0 translocates protons and does not substitute Na+ for H+ in energy coupling.     

A hybrid adenosinetriphosphatase composed of F1 of Escherichia coli and F0 of Propionigenium modestum is a functional sodium ion pump

Analyses on immunoblots indicated strong binding of the alpha- and beta-subunits of the ATPase of Propionigenium modestum to antibodies raised against the corresponding subunits of the F1F0 ATPase of Escherichia coli. Cross-reactivities of antibodies against the other ATPase subunits were not observed. The use of Na+ or H+ as alternate coupling ions, observed previously for the P. modestum ATPase [Laubinger, W., & Dimroth, P. (1989) Biochemistry 28, 7194-7198], is not found for the F1F0 ATPase of E. coli, which is specific for protons. However, a hybrid consisting of the F1 moiety of the E. coli ATPase and F0 of that from P. modestum performed Na+ or H+ transport in a reconstituted system. As with the homologous ATPase of P. modestum, H+ pumping of the hybrid was abolished at Na+ concentrations of greater than 1 mM. The F0 sector and not F1, therefore, determines the cation specificity of these F1F0 ATPases.     

ATP synthetase (F1F0) of Escherichia coli K-12. High-yield preparation of functional F0 by hydrophobic affinity chromatography

1. The purified ATP synthetase complex (F1F0) from Escherichia coli was adsorbed to immobilized poly-(L-lysine)-deoxycholic acid. About 0.7 mg F1F0 were bound per ml of settled gel. The hydrophilic F1 part was dissociated from the complex by treatment with 7 M urea. F0 was eluted in high yield either with deoxycholate (6 mM) or taurodeoxycholate (10 mM). About 14% of the total protein bound to the column was eluted as F0, which corresponds to 64% of the total F0 in the F1F0 complex. 2. The purified F0 preparation obtained was composed of three different kinds of subunits with apparent molecular weights of 24000 (a), 19000 (b) and 8300 (c), respectively as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. 3. After incorporation into liposomes and the generation of a potassium diffusion potential by valinomycin, the F0 preparation mediated H+ translocation. This H+ uptake is inhibited by either dicyclohexylcarbodiimide or purified F1 ATPase. 4. Incubation of F0-containing liposomes with F1 led to the reconstitution of an ATP-driven quenching of acridine-dye fluorescence. The quenching was abolished by uncoupler and prevented by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide.     

N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-sensitive K+-dependent ATPase activity in Escherichia coli

ATPase activity sensitive to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and dependent on K+ content in medium is observed only in anaerobically grown Escherichia coli and as the analysis of mutants with defects in different subunits of (F0F1) H+-ATPase and in potassium transport shows only under the structural integrity of both F0F1 and K+-ionophore (the Trk system). The obtained results confirm the data on the H+/K+-exchange and indicate that the F0F1 and Trk systems in anaerobically grown bacteria unite into the same membrane supercomplex inside which the direct energy transfer occurs without a mediation of delta-mu H+.     

Energy transformation coupled to formate oxidation during anaerobic fermentation

A correlation between the rate of ATP synthesis by F0F1 ATP-synthase and formate oxidation by formate hydrogen lyase (FHL) has been established in inverted membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli JW 136 mutant with double deletions (delta hya/ delta hyb) of hydrogenase 1 and 2 grown anaerobically on glucose in the absence of external electron acceptors (pH 6.5). ATP synthesis was suppressed by H+ -ATPase inhibitors N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) and sodium azide as well as by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide-m-chlorophenyhydrazone (CCCP). Copper ions inhibited formate-dependent hydrogenase and ATP-synthase activities but did not affect the ATPase activity of vesicles. The maximal rate of ATP synthesis (0.83 microM/min x mg protein) stimulated by K+ ions was determined when sodium formate, ADP and inorganic phosphate were applied simultaneously. The results confirm the assumption about the dual role of hydrogenase 3, formate hydrogen lyase subunit, which is able to couple the reduction of protons to H2 and their translocation through a membrane with chemiosmotic synthesis of ATP.     

Topological and functional characterization of the F0I subunit of the membrane moiety of the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase

Using isolated polypeptides of the F0 sector of bovine heart mitochondrial H+-ATPase, antisera were developed detecting specifically two components of F0. These two components were identified as F0I and oligomycin-sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) respectively. Both F0I and OSCP were digested by mild trypsin treatment of submitochondrial particles depleted of the catalytic part of H+-ATPase (USMP). Proteolysis was largely prevented by binding of F1 to F0. Proteolysis of F0I resulted in the formation of three immunoreactive, membrane-bound fragments of apparently 26 kDa, 25.5 kDa and 18 kDa, respectively, indicating that F0I contains trypsin-accessible Arg or Lys residues located close to the end and the middle part of the protein, respectively, which are in intimate contact with F1. Digestion of USMP with trypsin resulted in depression of passive H+ conduction through F0 which could be ascribed to proteolysis of F0I.     

Understanding ATP synthesis: structure and mechanism of the F1-ATPase (Review)

To couple the energy present in the electrochemical proton gradient, established across the mitochondrial membrane by the respiratory chain, to the formation of ATP from ADP and Pi, ATP-synthase goes through a sequence of coordinated conformational changes of its major subunits (alpha, beta). These changes are induced by the rotation of the gamma subunit driven by the translocation of protons through the c subunit of the membrane portion of the enzyme. During this process, the F1-portion of the ATP-synthase adopts at least two major conformations depending on the occupancy of the beta subunits: one with two nucleotides, the other with three. In the two-nucleotide structure, the empty beta subunit adopts an open conformation that is highly different from the other conformations of beta subunits: tight, loose and closed. The three-dimensional structures of the F1-ATPase in each of these two major conformations provide a framework for understanding the mechanism of energy coupling by the enzyme. The energetics associated with two different models of the reaction steps, analysed using molecular dynamics calculations, show that three-nucleotide intermediates do not occur in configurations with an open beta subunit; instead, they are stabilized by completing a jaw-like motion that closes the beta subunit around the nucleotide. Consequently, the energy driven, major conformational change takes place with the beta subunits in the tight, loose and closed conformation.     

Membrane ATPase of Vibrio alginolyticus. Ion transport activity and homology with F0F1-ATPase from E. coli]

F0F1-ATPase has been isolated from the marine alkali-resistant bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus. The enzyme subunits cross-reacted with antibodies against subunits alpha, beta, gamma, epsilon, and b of E. coli ATPase. The purified ATPase was reconstituted into liposomes effecting an ATP-dependent uptake of H+. Proton transport was inhibited by the ATPase blockers DCCD, triphenyltin, and venturicidin. Na+ ions had no effect on ATP-dependent proton transport. No ATP-dependent transport of Na+ was detected in proteoliposomes.     

Structural and functional relationship of ATP synthases (F1F0) from Escherichia coli and the thermophilic bacterium PS3

Functional compatibility between the F1 and F0 parts of ATP synthases from Escherichia coli (EF1F0) and the thermophilic bacterium PS3 (TF1F0) was analyzed. F1-stripped everted membrane vesicles from both organisms bound the homologous or heterologous F1 part to the same extent. Titration of the reconstituted membrane vesicles with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide revealed a similar sensitivity of the homologous and hybrid F1F0 complexes towards the inhibitor. Furthermore, the heterologous enzymes exhibited ATP-dependent H+ translocation comparable to that of homologous F1F0. Antisera raised against EF1 or subunits a, b, and c of EF0 were analyzed for cross-reactivity with TF1 and TF0. Common antigenic sites have been detected with immunoblot analysis for subunit beta and subunit c of EF1F0 and the corresponding subunits from TF1F0. A weak binding of the anti-a and anti-b antisera with the TF0 part has been observed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Based on these findings the structural and functional relationship between the mesophilic and thermophilic ATP synthase complexes is discussed.