Reconstitution of thermostable ATPase capable of energy coupling from its purified subunits

Purified dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-sensitive ATPase (TF0-F1) from thermophilic bacterium PS3 is composed of a water soluble part with ATP hydrolytic activity (TF1) and a water insoluble moiety (TF0). All of the five subunits (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon) of TF1 were isolated. TF1 was reconstituted from the five subunits, which catalyzed an ATP-32Pi exchange and an ATP-driven enhancement of fluorescence of 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate, when adsorbed on proteoliposome inlaid with TF0 (TF3-vesicles). Subunit epsilon and/or delta became firmly bound to TF0-vesicles and there was no preferential sequence in the binding. Both subunits were required for binding of the remaining subunits of TF1 to TF0-vesicles, but they did not modify the high H+ -permeability of TF0-vesicles. The addition of gamma but they did not modify the high H+-permeability of TFO-vesicles. The addition of gamma subunit together with epsilon and delta subunits caused a marked decrease of H+ -permeability of TF0-vesicles, similar to that induced by TF1. We conclude tentatively that the epsilon and delta subunits connect TF0 and the other subunits forming a part of a proton pathway, gamma is a gate of proton flow coupled to ATP hydrolysis (or synthesis), and alpha and beta subunits contain the active site for energy transformation. A possible model of subunit structure of TF1 is proposed.