Three copies of the beta subunit must be modified to achieve complete inactivation of the bovine mitochondrial F1-ATPase by 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyladenosine.

The modification of both beta-Tyr-368 and beta-His-427 can be correlated with the loss of activity observed when the bovine mitochondrial F1-ATPase is inactivated with 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyl[3H]adenosine ([3H]FSBA). At pH 8.0, where the rate of inactivation is fast, beta-Tyr-368 is modified predominantly, while at pH 6.0, where the rate of inactivation is slow, beta-His-427 is modified predominantly. At pH 7.0, the 2 residues are modified with about equal efficiency. When the F1-ATPase was inactivated by 80% at pH 6.5, 7.0, and 7.5, the sum of radioactivity incorporated into beta-Tyr-368 and beta-His-427 was 1.99, 1.87, and 1.82 mol of label incorporated per mol of enzyme, respectively. Examination of the rate of inactivation of the enzyme by FSBA as a function of pH revealed two pKa values, one of about 7.6 associated with the modification of beta-Tyr-368 and the other of about 5.8 associated with the modification of beta-His-427. The inactivation of the F1-ATPase by FSBA exhibited an initial fast rate followed by a slower rate in triethanolamine-HCl, pH 7.0. In contrast, only a single rate, equivalent to the fast phase of inactivation in the absence of phosphate, was observed in 0.2 M phosphate, pH 7.0. The dependence of this stimulation on phosphate concentration is sigmoidal with half-maximal stimulation occurring at approximately 160 mM. The ratio of 3H incorporated into beta-Tyr-368 to that incorporated into beta-His-427 was approximately the same during the fast and slow phases of inactivation in triethanolamine-HCl, pH 7.0. Approximately the same ratio was observed when the enzyme was modified during the single phase of inactivation exhibited in the presence of 0.2 M phosphate, pH 7.0. The sum of the 3H incorporated into beta-Tyr-368 and beta-His-427 during inactivation of the F1-ATPase from bovine heart mitochondria by [3H]FSBA in the presence and absence of phosphate was linear and extrapolated to a value of about 2.6 residues modified on complete inactivation of the enzyme. From these data, it is concluded that FSBA binds to a single binding site on the beta subunits of the enzyme where it reacts with either beta-Tyr-368 or beta-His-427 in mutually exclusive reactions. All three beta subunits must be modified in this manner for complete inactivation to be observed.