Defective proton ATPase of uncA mutants of Escherichia coli. 5'-Adenylyl imidodiphosphate binding and ATP hydrolysis.

The Escherichia coli uncA gene codes for the alpha-subunit of the F1 sector of the membrane proton ATPase. In this work purified soluble F1 enzymes from three mutant strains ( uncA401 , uncA447 , and uncA453 ) have been compared to F1 from a normal strain in respect to (a) binding of 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) to native enzyme in both the presence and absence of Mg, (b) high-affinity binding of MgATP to native enzyme, (c) total reloading of MgAMPPNP to nucleotide-depleted F1 preparations, (d, e) ability to hydrolyze MgATP at both high MgATP concentrations (d) (steady-state conditions) and low MgATP concentrations (e) where substrate hydrolysis occurs under nonsteady-state (" unisite ") conditions, and (f) sensitivity of steady-state ATPase activities to inhibitors of normal F1-ATPase activity. uncA mutant F1 showed normal stoichiometry of MgAMPPNP binding to both native (three sites per F1) and nucleotide-depleted preparations (six sites per F1). Native uncA F1 preparations showed lower-than-normal affinity for MgAMPPNP and MgATP at the first site filled. Binding of AMPPNP in the absence of Mg was similar to normal, except that no increase in affinity for AMPPNP was induced by aurovertin. The uncA F1-ATPases had low but real steady-state rates of ATP hydrolysis, which were inhibited by aurovertin but relatively insensitive to inhibition by AMPPNP, efrapeptin, and sodium azide. Non-steady-state ( unisite ) ATP hydrolysis rates catalyzed at low substrate concentrations by uncA F1-ATPases were similar to normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)