Subunit composition of mitochondrial F1-ATPase isolated from Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

1. The subunit stoicheiometry of mitochondrial F1-ATPase from yeast (Saccharomyces carlsbergensis), grown in the presence of [3H]leucine and uniformly labelled [14C]glucose, has been determined. 2. The stoicheiometry on the basis of radioactivity is : alpha: beta: gamma: epsilon = 3 : 3 : 1 : 1. The amount of the smallest subunit, epsilon, could not be measured by this method. 3. The molecular weights of the subunits, determined by urea-SDS gel electrophoresis, are 53 000, 50 000, 33 000, 12 500 and 6500, respectively. The calculated molecular weight of the ATPase is 360 000, assuming the presence of one epsilon subunit per F1. 4. The amino acid composition of the total ATPase and of the individual subunits has been determined. 5. The aurovertin-binding properties of F1 are discussed in relation to the subunit stoicheiometry.