The assembly factor Atp11p binds to the beta-subunit of the mitochondrial F(1)-ATPase.

Atp11p is a protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae required for the assembly of the F(1) component of the mitochondrial F(1)F(0)-ATP synthase. This study presents evidence that Atp11p binds selectively to the beta-subunit of F(1). Under conditions in which avidin-Sepharose beads specifically adsorbed biotinylated Atp11p from yeast mitochondrial extracts, the F(1) beta-subunit coprecipitated with the tagged Atp11p protein. Binding interactions between Atp11p and the entire beta-subunit of F(1) or fragments of the beta-subunit were also revealed by a yeast two-hybrid screen: Atp11p bound to a region of the nucleotide-binding domain of the beta-subunit located between Gly(114) and Leu(318). Certain elements of this sequence that would be accessible to Atp11p in the free beta-subunit make contact with adjacent alpha-subunits in the assembled enzyme. This observation suggests that the alpha-subunits may exchange for bound Atp11p during the process of F(1) assembly.