Mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h-. Changes in activity and inhibitor-sensitivity in response to catabolite repression.

1. The specific activity of mitochondrial ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) in extracts of Schizosaccharomyces pombe decreased 2.5-fold as the glucose concentration in the growth medium decreased from 50mM to 15mM. 2. During the late exponential phase of growth, ATPase activity doubled. 3. Sensitivity to oligomycin and Dio-9 as measured by values for I50(mug of inhibitor/mg of protein giving 50% inhibition) at pH 6.8 increased sixfold and ninefold respectively during the initial decrease in ATPase activity, and this degree of sensitivity was maintained for the remainder of the growth cycle. 4. Increased sensitivity to NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide, triethyltin and venturicidin was also observed during the early stage of glucose de-repression. 5. Smaller increases in sensitivity to efrapeptin, aurovertin, 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diaz-le, quercetin and spegazzinine also occurred. 6. The ATPase of glycerol-grown cells was less sensitive to inhibitors than that of glucose-repressed cells; change in values for I50 were not so marked during the growth cycle of cells growing with glycerol. 7. When submitochondrial particles from glycerol-grown cells were tested by passage through Sephadex G-50, a fourfold increase in activity was accompanied by increased inhibitor resistance. 8. Gel filtration of submitochondrial particles from glucose-de-repressed cells gave similar results, whereas loss of ATPase occurred in submitochondrial particles from glucose-repressed cells. 9. It is proposed that alterations in sensitivity to inhibitors at different stages of glucose derepression may be partly controlled by a naturally occuring inhibitor of ATPase. 10. The inhibitors tested may be classififed into two groups on the basis of alterations of sensitivity of the ATPase during physiological modification: (a) oligomycin, Dio-9, NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide, venturicidin and triethyltin, and (b) efrapeptin, aurovertin, 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, quercetin and spegazzinine.