Robustness of the Rotary Catalysis Mechanism of F1-ATPase

F-1-ATPase (F-1) is the rotary motor protein fueled by ATP hydrolysis. Previous studies have suggested that three charged residues are indispensable for catalysis of F-1 as follows: the P-loop lysine in the phosphate-binding loop, GXXXXGK(T/S); a glutamic acid that activates water molecules for nucleophilic attack on the gamma-phosphate of ATP (general base); and an arginine directly contacting the gamma-phosphate (arginine finger). These residues are well conserved among P-loop NTPases. In this study, we investigated the role of these charged residues in catalysis and torque generation by analyzing alanine-substituted mutants in the single-molecule rotation assay. Surprisingly, all mutants continuously drove rotary motion, even though the rotational velocity was at least 100,000 times slower than that of wild type. Thus, although these charged residues contribute to highly efficient catalysis, they are not indispensable to chemo-mechanical energy coupling, and the rotary catalysis mechanism of F-1 is far more robust than previously thought.