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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Visualization of ATP Synthase Dimers in Mitochondria by Electron Cryo-tomography
Published on: September 14, 2014
Notes on the mechanism of ATP synthesis
M A Bianchet1, P L Pedersen, L M Amzel
1Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Abstract:
The most commonly quoted mechanism of the coupling between the electrochemical proton gradient and the formation of ATP from ADP and P(i) assumes that all states of the F(1) portion of the ATP synthase have beta subunits in "tight," "loose," and "open" conformations. Models based on this assumption are inconsistent with some of the available experimental evidence. A mechanism that includes an additional beta subunit conformation, "closed," observed in the rat liver structure overcomes these difficulties.
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