Homogeneous preparations of α3β3γ complexes with one, two or three non-competent non-catalytic site(s) were performed as described [Amano, Hisabori, Muneyuki, and Yoshida (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 18128-18133] and their properties were compared with those of the wild-type complex. The ATPase activity of the complex with three non-competent non-catalytic sites decayed rapidly to an inactivated state, as reported previously [Matsui, Muneyuki, Honda, Allison, Dou, and Yoshida (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 8215-8221]. In contrast, the complex with one or two non-competent non-catalytic sites displayed a substantial steady-state phase activity depending on the number of non-competent non-catalytic sites in the complex. This result indicates that one competent non-catalytic site can maintain the continuous catalytic turnover of the enzyme and can potentially relieve all three catalytic sites from inhibition by MgADP-. Furthermore, the results suggest that the interaction between three non-catalytic sites might not be as strong as that between catalytic sites, which are all strictly required for a continuous catalytic turnover.
The crystal structure of the nucleotide-free α3β3 subcomplex of F1-ATPase from the thermophilic Bacillus PS3 is a symmetric trimer
