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Structure and conformational states of the bovine mitochondrial ATP synthase by cryo-EM.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Zhou, Anna 
Rohou, Alexis 
Schep, Daniel G 
Bason, John V 
Montgomery, Martin G 

Abstract

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical energy currency of biology, is synthesized in eukaryotic cells primarily by the mitochondrial ATP synthase. ATP synthases operate by a rotary catalytic mechanism where proton translocation through the membrane-inserted FO region is coupled to ATP synthesis in the catalytic F1 region via rotation of a central rotor subcomplex. We report here single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) analysis of the bovine mitochondrial ATP synthase. Combining cryo-EM data with bioinformatic analysis allowed us to determine the fold of the a subunit, suggesting a proton translocation path through the FO region that involves both the a and b subunits. 3D classification of images revealed seven distinct states of the enzyme that show different modes of bending and twisting in the intact ATP synthase. Rotational fluctuations of the c8-ring within the FO region support a Brownian ratchet mechanism for proton-translocation-driven rotation in ATP synthases.

Description

Keywords

ATP synthase, biochemistry, biophysics, bovine, coevolution, cryo-EM, evolutionary covariance, structural biology, structure, Animals, Cattle, Computational Biology, Cryoelectron Microscopy, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases, Models, Molecular, Protein Conformation, Protein Folding

Journal Title

Elife

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2050-084X
2050-084X

Volume Title

4

Publisher

eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MC_EX_MR/M009858/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_U105663150)