Large-scale purification of plasma membrane H+-ATPase from a cell wall-less mutant of Neurospora crassa

Structure of the hexameric fungal plasma membrane proton pump in its autoinhibited state

The fungal plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase Pma1 is a vital enzyme, generating a proton-motive force that drives the import of essential nutrients. Autoinhibited Pma1 hexamers in the plasma membrane of starving fungi are activated by glucose signaling and subsequent phosphorylation of the autoinhibitory domain. As related P-type adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) are not known to oligomerize, the physiological relevance of Pma1 hexamers remained unknown. We have determined the structure of hexameric Pma1 from Neurospora crassa by electron cryo-microscopy at 3.3-Å resolution, elucidating the molecular basis for hexamer formation and autoinhibition and providing a basis for structure-based drug development. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations in a lipid bilayer suggest lipid-mediated contacts between monomers and a substantial protein-induced membrane deformation that could act as a proton-attracting funnel.

Structure of the hexameric fungal plasma membrane proton pump in its autoinhibited state

The fungal plasma membrane H+-ATPase Pma1 is a vital enzyme, generating a proton-motive force that drives the import of essential nutrients. Autoinhibited Pma1 hexamers in the plasma membrane of starving fungi are activated by glucose signaling and subsequent phosphorylation of the autoinhibitory domain. As related P-type adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) are not known to oligomerize, the physiological relevance of Pma1 hexamers remained unknown. We have determined the structure of hexameric Pma1 from Neurospora crassa by electron cryo-microscopy at 3.3-Å resolution, elucidating the molecular basis for hexamer formation and autoinhibition and providing a basis for structure-based drug development. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations in a lipid bilayer suggest lipid-mediated contacts between monomers and a substantial protein-induced membrane deformation that could act as a proton-attracting funnel.

Site-directed mutagenesis of the cysteine residues in the Neurospora crassa plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase

A high-yield yeast expression system for site-directed mutagenesis of the Neurospora crassa plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase has recently been reported (Mahanty, S. K., Rao, U. S., Nicholas, R. A., and Scarborough, G. A. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 17705-17712). Using this system, each of the eight cysteine residues in the ATPase was changed to a serine or an alanine residue, producing strains C148S and C148A, C376S and C376A, C409S and C409A, C472S and C472A, C532S and C532A, C545S and C545A, C840S and C840A, and C869S and C869A, respectively. With the exception of C376S and C532S, all of the mutant ATPases are able to support the growth of yeast cells to different extents, indicating that they are functional. The C376S and C532S enzymes appear to be non-functional. After solubilization of the functional mutant ATPase molecules from isolated membranes with lysolecithin, all behaved similar to the native enzyme when subjected to glycerol density gradient centrifugation, indicating that they fold in a natural manner. The kinetic properties of these mutant enzymes were also similar to the native ATPase with the exception of C409A, which has a substantially higher Km. These results clearly indicate that none of the eight cysteine residues in the H(+)-ATPase molecule are essential for ATPase activity, but that Cys376, Cys409, and Cys532 may be in or near important sites. They also demonstrate that the previously described disulfide bridge between Cys148 and Cys840 or Cys869 plays no obvious role in the structure or function of this membrane transport enzyme.

Studies on the sedimentation behavior of the Neurospora crassa plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase synthesized in vitro and integrated into homologous microsomal membranes

RNA transcripts that encoded the Neurospora crassa plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase (pma+), a polytopic integral membrane protein, and the pma+344, a truncated pma+ with the amino terminal 344 amino acids, were translated in a N. crassa in vitro system. The microsomal membranes integrated products were insensitive to extraction by Na2CO3 (pH 11.5). The velocity sedimentation behavior of the in vitro synthesized pma+ were examined under various conditions. The pma+ migrated on linear sucrose gradients as aggregates which were heterogeneous in size, in the regions of 9-13 S; whereas, these values were reduced when Triton X-100 was presence in the gradients. The formation of these aggregates is interpreted to suggest a mechanism that maintains this polytopic integral membrane protein in a soluble form until it is targeted to the membranes. The sedimentation coefficient of the Triton X-100 solubilized microsomal membranes integrated pma+ corresponded roughly to a monomer of the pma+. Furthermore, a comparison of the trypsin cleavage patterns of the in vitro synthesized pma+ and of the microsomal membranes integrated pma+ suggest that they have different tertiary, or quaternary, structures. The latter did not give the characteristic trypsin cleavage patterns that have been observed for the native pma+ in the presence of its ligands MgATP and vanadate (Addison, R. and Scarborough, G.A. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 10421-10426). This was interpreted to suggest that the microsomal membranes integrated pma+ cannot interact with its substrate, suggesting that it is catalytically inactive.