Interaction of Sulfite with the Noncatalytic and Catalytic Sites of Chloroplast Coupling Factor CF1

The interaction between sulfite, an efficient Mg²⁺-dependent F₁-ATPase activator, and chloroplast CF₁-ATPase was studied. The sulfite anion was shown to inhibit ADP and ATP binding to the noncatalytic sites of CF₁. The stimulating activity of sulfite persists when all noncatalytic sites are nucleotide-occupied. Phosphate, a competing candidate for binding to CF₁ catalytic sites, suppresses this activity. These results support the suggestion that the stimulation of Mg²⁺-dependent ATPase activity of CF₁ is caused by sulfite binding to its catalytic sites.