Cloning and sequencing of the genes coding for the A and B subunits of vacuolar-type Na(+)-ATPase from Enterococcus hirae. Coexistence of vacuolar- and F0F1-type ATPases in one bacterial cell.

The eubacterium Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790 possesses a H(+)-translocating ATPase, and the deduced amino acid sequences of the genes coding for this enzyme have indicated that it is a typical F0F1-type ATPase (Shibata, C., Ehara, T., Tomura, K., Igarashi, K., and Kobayashi, H. (1992) J. Bacteriol. 174, 6117-6124). We cloned the ntpA and ntpB genes coding for the A and B subunits, respectively, of Na(+)-translocating ATPase from the same bacterium, and the full amino acid sequences of the two subunits were deduced from the nucleotide sequence. The A (593 amino acid residues) and B (458 amino acid residues) subunits were highly homologous (48-60% identical) to the A (large or alpha) and the B (small or beta) subunits, respectively, of vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPases which have been found in eukaryotic endomembrane systems (Neurospora crassa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Arabidopsis thaliana, and carrot) and archaebacterial cell membranes (Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and Methanosarcina barkeri). The A and B subunits of Na(+)-ATPase showed about 23-28% identities with the beta and alpha subunits of E. hirae F1-ATPase and of Escherichia coli F1-ATPase, respectively. These results indicate that E. hirae Na(+)-ATPase belongs to the vacuolar-type ATPase. This is the first demonstration that both genes for V- and F-type ATPases are functionally expressed in one bacterial cell.