Cracking Controls ATP Hydrolysis in the Catalytic Unit of a P-type ATPase

Membrane transporters are essential for homeostasis and among them P-type ATPases are key players. Despite extensive research, conformational changes in their catalytic unit and their coupling to ATP hydrolysis are not explored in detail. In this work, we analyzed the effect of ATP, temperature, and urea on the steady-state ATPase activity, tryptophan fluorescence and far-UV ellipticity of the catalytic unit of the thermophilic Cu(I) transport P_1B-ATPase from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. Combining local frustration analysis with AlphaFold2 structure prediction, we identified an open conformation which we used to perform structure-based model simulations of the open-closed transition. We developed a mechanistic model that fully describes all of our experimental observations. Our results revealed a "cracking"-like mechanism involved in the catalysis of ATP hydrolysis. These findings reinforce that, although simple, the isolated catalytic unit is a relevant model to study the role of local unfolding in the catalytic mechanism of these proteins.