The fluorescein isothiocyanate-binding site of the plasma-membrane H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa

The mammalian (Na+,K+), Ca2+-, and (H+,K+)-ATPases contain a well-characterized lysine residue that reacts with fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate (FITC); enzymatic activity is protected by ATP, suggesting that the residue is located in or near the nucleotide-binding domain. In this study, the plasma-membrane H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa is also shown to be sensitive to FITC. The reaction occurs with pseudo first-order kinetics, has a pKa of 8.0, and is stimulated by Mg2+. Enzymatic activity is protected by MgADP with a Kd of 0.2-0.3 mM, close to the Ki with which MgADP serves as a competitive inhibitor of ATP hydrolysis. A tryptic peptide labeled with FITC in the absence, but not in the presence, of MgADP has been isolated and sequenced. The FITC-sensitive residue is Lys474, located in a region that exhibits significant homology with the mammalian cation-transporting ATPases.