Comparison of the H+/ATP ratios of the H+-ATP synthases from yeast and from chloroplast

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jul 10;109(28):11150-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1202799109. Epub 2012 Jun 25.

Abstract

F(0)F(1)-ATP synthases use the free energy derived from a transmembrane proton transport to synthesize ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate. The number of protons translocated per ATP (H(+)/ATP ratio) is an important parameter for the mechanism of the enzyme and for energy transduction in cells. Current models of rotational catalysis predict that the H(+)/ATP ratio is identical to the stoichiometric ratio of c-subunits to β-subunits. We measured in parallel the H(+)/ATP ratios at equilibrium of purified F(0)F(1)s from yeast mitochondria (c/β = 3.3) and from spinach chloroplasts (c/β = 4.7). The isolated enzymes were reconstituted into liposomes and, after energization of the proteoliposomes with acid-base transitions, the initial rates of ATP synthesis and hydrolysis were measured as a function of ΔpH. The equilibrium ΔpH was obtained by interpolation, and from its dependency on the stoichiometric ratio, [ATP]/([ADP]·[P(i)]), finally the thermodynamic H(+)/ATP ratios were obtained: 2.9 ± 0.2 for the mitochondrial enzyme and 3.9 ± 0.3 for the chloroplast enzyme. The data show that the thermodynamic H(+)/ATP ratio depends on the stoichiometry of the c-subunit, although it is not identical to the c/β ratio.

MeSH terms

  • ATP Synthetase Complexes / chemistry*
  • Adenosine Triphosphate / chemistry*
  • Buffers
  • Calibration
  • Catalysis
  • Chloroplasts / metabolism
  • Enzymes / chemistry
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Hydrolysis
  • Mitochondria / enzymology
  • Models, Biological
  • Proton-Motive Force
  • Protons
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / enzymology
  • Spinacia oleracea / enzymology
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Buffers
  • Enzymes
  • Protons
  • Adenosine Triphosphate
  • ATP Synthetase Complexes