Meier Thomas, Dimroth Peter
Institut für Mikrobiologie, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, ETH-Zentrum, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
EMBO Rep. 2002 Nov;3(11):1094-8. doi: 10.1093/embo-reports/kvf216. Epub 2002 Oct 22.
The oligomeric c-rings of Na+-translocating F1F0 ATP synthases exhibit unusual stability, resisting even boiling in SDS. Here, we show that the molecular basis for this remarkable property is intersubunit crossbridging by Na+ or Li+ ions. The heat stability of c11 was dependent on the presence of Na+ or Li+ ions. For equal stability, 10 times higher Li+ than Na+ concentrations were required, reflecting the 10 times lower binding affinity for Li+ than for Na+. In a recent structural model of c11, the Na+ or Li+ binding ligands are located on neighboring c-subunits, which thus become crossbridged by the binding of either alkali ion with a concomitant increase in the stability of the ring. Site-directed mutagenesis strengthens the essential role of glutamate 65 in the crossbridging of the subunits and also corroborates the proposed stabilizing effect of an ion bridge including aspartate 2.
Na⁺转运型F₁F₀ ATP合酶的寡聚c环表现出异常的稳定性,甚至在SDS中煮沸也能抵抗。在这里,我们表明这种显著特性的分子基础是通过Na⁺或Li⁺离子进行亚基间交联。c₁₁的热稳定性取决于Na⁺或Li⁺离子的存在。为了达到相同的稳定性,所需的Li⁺浓度比Na⁺浓度高10倍,这反映出Li⁺的结合亲和力比Na⁺低10倍。在最近的c₁₁结构模型中,Na⁺或Li⁺结合配体位于相邻的c亚基上,因此通过任一碱金属离子的结合使这些亚基交联,同时环的稳定性增加。定点诱变强化了谷氨酸65在亚基交联中的重要作用,也证实了包括天冬氨酸2在内的离子桥的拟稳定作用。