Search

Two substitutions were made for Arg41 in the polar loop of subunit c of the Escherichia coli F1F0 H(+)-transporting ATP synthase. The R41K and R41H mutants were initially studied by use of a plasmid carrying the complete c R41K or c R41H unc (F1F0) operon in a chromosomal strain deleted for the unc operon. The extent of F0 incorporation into membranes of these cells was quite variable, and the system was concluded to be unsuitable for biochemical characterization. Ultimately, the mutant genes were recombined into the chromosome using a novel method for the unc system. The biochemical phenotype of the chromosomally expressed mutants proved to be reproducible. The c R41H mutation causes a specific defect in assembly of F0, i.e. subunit a was not incorporated into the membrane despite near normal incorporation of subunits b and c. On the other hand, c R41K mutant F0 assembled normally in one of two background strains studied. (In the second genetic background, subunit a was inefficiently incorporated into the c R41K membrane.) In membranes prepared from a c R41K strain assembling a complete F0, R41K F0 was found to bind F1 with near normal affinity and to transport H+ at near normal rates. Although R41K F0 binds F1, F1-ATPase activity and H+ transport remained uncoupled. The uncoupling was indicated by a lack of ATP-driven H+ translocation and by the high proton permeability of membranes with F1 bound to F0. The uncoupled phenotype of the R41K mutant closely resembles that previously reported for the c Q42E mutant.

A mutant of ATP synthase subunit c was isolated in which the essential aspartate was exchanged from position 61 on transmembrane helix-2 to position 24 on transmembrane helix-1 (Miller, M. J., Oldenburg, M., and Fillingame, R. H. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 87, 4900-4904). The H+ transporting ATP synthase function of the Ala24-->Asp/Asp61-->Gly mutant is not optimal, and cells grow more slowly than wild type. Twenty-three third-site suppressor mutants with optimized function were isolated in this study. Ten of the optimizing mutations were located to helix-2 of subunit c, and seven of these fell in residues Phe53, Met57, and Met65. The side chains of these three residues are proposed to form a hydrophobic surface on transmembrane helix-2, which participates in the presentation or occlusion of the essential aspartate carboxyl group during proton translocation. The other 13 optimizing mutations were located to subunit a, and 10 of these fell in residues Ala217, Ile221, and Leu224. These three residues are proposed to lie on one face of a transmembrane alpha-helix that includes the essential Arg210 residue. This helix is proposed to interact with the transmembrane bihelical unit of subunit c during protonation and deprotonation of the essential Asp24 in the mutant or Asp61 in wild type.

Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) inhibits the activity of the F1F0-H+ ATP synthase of Escherichia coli by reacting with aspartyl 61 in subunit c of the FO sector to form a stable N-acylurea. The segment of chromosomal DNA which codes the subunits of the FO was cloned from four independently isolated DCCD-resistant mutants, and the sequence of the subunit c gene (uncE) was determined. An Ala24 to serine (A24S) substitution was found in the subunit c gene of each mutant. The A24S uncE gene was cloned into the BamHI site of a mutant derivative of plasmid pBR322. The A24S subunit c conferred DCCD resistance to a variety of recipient E. coli strains when it was overexpressed from this plasmid. A 7-base pair deletion beginning at position 132 of the plasmid vector was responsible for the observed overexpression. Hoppe et al. (Hoppe, J., Schairer, H. U., and Sebald, W. (1980) Eur. J. Biochem. 112, 17-24) had previously shown that mutation of subunit c Ile28 to threonine or valine resulted in DCCD resistance. The DCCD sensitivities of the membrane ATPase of these mutants and the A24S mutant were compared. DCCD sensitivity decreased in the order: wild-type much greater than I27V greater than I28T = A24S. The venturicidin sensitivities of wild-type and mutant membranes were also examined. The membrane ATPase of the I28T and I28V mutants was venturicidin resistant whereas the A24S substitution resulted in a hypersensitivity to inhibition by venturicidin. These results support a model in which subunit c folds in the membrane like a hairpin, where the region of residues 24-28 in transmembrane helix-1 is close to that of aspartyl 61 in transmembrane helix-2.

The conserved, polar loop region of subunit c of the Escherichia coli F1F0 ATP synthase is postulated to function in the coupling of proton translocation through F0 to ATP synthesis in F1. We have used a random mutagenesis procedure to define the essential residues in the region. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was carried out with a random mixture of mutant oligonucleotides, the oligonucleotide mixture being generated by chemical synthesis by using phosphoramidite nucleotide stocks that were contaminated with the other three nucleotides. Thirty mutant genes coding single-amino-acid substitutions in the region between Glu-37 and Leu-45 of subunit c were tested for function by analyzing the capacity of plasmids carrying the mutant genes to complement a Leu-4----amber subunit c mutant. All substitutions at the conserved Arg-41 residue resulted in loss of oxidative phosphorylation, i.e., transformants could not grow on a succinate carbon source. The other conserved residues were more tolerant to substitution, although most substitutions did result in impaired growth on succinate. We conclude that Arg-41 is essential in the function of the polar loop and that the ensemble of other conserved residues collectively maintain an optimal environment required for that function.

The uncE114 mutation (Gln42----Glu) in subunit c of the Escherichia coli H+ ATP synthetase causes uncoupling of proton translocation from ATP hydrolysis (Mosher, M. E., White, L. K., Hermolin, J., and Fillingame, R. H. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 4807-4814). In the background of strain ER, the mutation led to dissociation of F1 from the membrane. Ten revertants to the uncE114 mutation were isolated, and the uncE gene was cloned and sequenced. Six of the revertants were intragenic and had substitutions of glycine, alanine, or valine for the mutant glutamate residue at position 42. The intragenic, revertant uncE genes were incorporated into an otherwise wild type chromosome of strain ER. Membrane vesicles prepared from each of the revertants showed a restoration of F1 binding to F0. The Val42 revertant differed from the other two revertants in that the ATPase activity of F1 was inhibited when membrane bound. This was shown by the stimulation of ATPase activity when F1 was released from the membrane. The Gly42 and Ala42 revertants demonstrated membrane ATPase activity that was resistant to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide treatment. Resistance was shown to be due to the increased dissociation of F1 from the membrane under ATPase assay conditions. The Ala42 revertant showed a significant reduction in ATP-dependent quenching of quinacrine fluorescence that was attributed to less efficient coupling of ATP hydrolysis to H+ translocation, whereas the other revertants showed responses very near to that of wild type. Minor changes in the F1-F0 interaction in all three revertants were indicated by an increase in H+ leakiness, as judged by reduced NADH-dependent quenching of quinacrine fluorescence. The minor defects in the revertants support the idea that residue 42 is involved in the binding and coupling of F1 to F0 but also show that the conserved glutamine (or asparagine) is not absolutely necessary in this function.

The conserved Pro43 residue of the uncE protein (subunit c) of the Escherichia coli F1F0-ATPase was changed to Ser or Ala by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis, and the mutations were incorporated into the chromosome. The resultant mutant strains were capable of oxidative phosphorylation as indicated by their ability to grow on succinate and had growth yields on glucose that were 80-90% of wild type. Membrane vesicles from the mutants were slightly less efficient than wild type vesicles in ATP-driven proton pumping as indicated by ATP-dependent quenching of quinacrine fluorescence. The decreased quenching response was not due to increased H+ leakiness of the mutant membranes or to loss of F1-ATPase activity from the membrane. These results indicate that the mutant F1F0-ATPases are defective in coupling ATP hydrolysis to H+ translocation. The membrane ATPase activity of the mutants was inhibited less by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide than that of wild type. The decrease in sensitivity to inhibition by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide was caused primarily by dissociation of the F1-ATPase from the mutant F0 in the ATPase assay mixture. These results support the idea that Pro43, and neighboring conserved polar residues play an important role in the binding and functional coupling of F1 to F0. Although a Pro residue is found at position 43 in all species of subunit c studied, surprisingly, it is not absolutely essential to function.