Alkylation of cysteine 89 of the gamma subunit of chloroplast coupling factor 1 with N-ethylmaleimide alters nucleotide interactions

Singlet oxygen inhibits ATPase and proton translocation activity of the thylakoid ATP synthase CF1CFo

Singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) produced in plants during photosynthesis has a strong damaging effect not only on both photosystems but also on the whole photosynthetic machinery. This is also applicable for the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase. Here we describe the impact of (1)O(2) generated by the photosensitizer Rose Bengal on the ATP hydrolysis and ATP-driven proton translocation activity of CF1CFo. Both activities were reduced dramatically within 1min of exposure. Interestingly, it is shown that oxidized thylakoid ATP synthase is more susceptible to (1)O(2) than CF1CFo in its reduced state, a new insight on the mechanism of (1)O(2) interaction with the gamma subunit.

C-Terminal mutations in the chloroplast ATP synthase gamma subunit impair ATP synthesis and stimulate ATP hydrolysis

Two highly conserved amino acid residues, an arginine and a glutamine, located near the C-terminal end of the gamma subunit, form a "catch" by hydrogen bonding with residues in an anionic loop on one of the three catalytic beta subunits of the bovine mitochondrial F1-ATPase [Abrahams, J. P., Leslie, A. G., Lutter, R., and Walker, J. E. (1994) Nature 370, 621-628]. The catch is considered to play a critical role in the binding change mechanism whereby binding of ATP to one catalytic site releases the catch and induces a partial rotation of the gamma subunit. This role is supported by the observation that mutation of the equivalent arginine and glutamine residues in the Escherichia coli F1 gamma subunit drastically reduced all ATP-dependent catalytic activities of the enzyme [Greene, M. D., and Frasch, W. D. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 5194-5198]. In this study, we show that simultaneous substitution of the equivalent residues in the chloroplast F1 gamma subunit, arginine 304 and glutamine 305, with alanine decreased the level of proton-coupled ATP synthesis by more than 80%. Both the Mg2+-dependent and Ca2+-dependent ATP hydrolysis activities increased by more than 3-fold as a result of these mutations; however, the sulfite-stimulated activity decreased by more than 60%. The Mg2+-dependent, but not the Ca2+-dependent, ATPase activity of the double mutant was insensitive to inhibition by the phytotoxic inhibitor tentoxin, indicating selective loss of catalytic cooperativity in the presence of Mg2+ ions. The results indicate that the catch residues are required for efficient proton coupling and for activation of multisite catalysis when MgATP is the substrate. The catch is not, however, required for CaATP-driven multisite catalysis or, therefore, for rotation of the gamma subunit.

Inhibition of spinach chloroplast F0F1 by an Fe2+/ascorbate/H2O2 system

Plant chloroplasts are particularly threatened by free radical attack. We incubated purified soluble spinach chloroplast F(0)F(1) (CF(0)F(1), EC 3.6.3.34) with an Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2)/ascorbate system, and about 60% inactivation of the ATPase activity was reached after 60 min. Inactivation was not prevented by omission of H(2)O(2), by addition of catalase or superoxide dismutase, nor by the scavengers mannitol, DMSO, or BHT. No evidence for enzyme fragmentation or oligomerization was detected by SDS-PAGE. The chloroplast ATP synthase is resistant to attack by the reactive oxygen species commonly found at the chloroplast level. DTT in the medium completely prevented the inhibition, and its addition after the inhibition partially recovered the activity of the enzyme. CF(0)F(1) thiol residues were lost upon oxidation. The rate of thiol modification was faster than the rate of enzyme inactivation, suggesting that the thiol residues accounting for the inhibition may be hindered. Enzyme previously oxidized by iodobenzoate was not further inhibited by the oxidative system. The production of ascorbyl radical was identified by EPR and is possibly related to CF(0)F(1) inactivation. It is thus suggested that the ascorbyl radical, which accumulates under plant stress, might regulate CF(0)F(1).

Coupling proton movement to ATP synthesis in the chloroplast ATP synthase

The chloroplast F(0)F(1)-ATP synthase-ATPase is a tiny rotary motor responsible for coupling ATP synthesis and hydrolysis to the light-driven electrochemical proton gradient. Reversible oxidation/reduction of a dithiol, located within a special regulatory domain of the gamma subunit of the chloroplast F(1) enzyme, switches the enzyme between an inactive and an active state. This regulatory mechanism is unique to the ATP synthases of higher plants and its physiological significance lies in preventing nonproductive depletion of essential ATP pools in the dark. The three-dimensional structure of the chloroplast F(1) gamma subunit has not yet been solved. To examine the mechanism of dithiol regulation, a model of the chloroplast gamma subunit was obtained through segmental homology modeling based on the known structures of the mitochondrial and bacterial gamma subunits, together with de novo construction of the unknown regulatory domain. The model has provided considerable insight into how the dithiol might modulate catalytic function. This has, in turn, suggested a mechanism by which rotation of subunits in F(0), the transmembrane proton channel portion of the enzyme, can be coupled, via the epsilon subunit, to rotation of the gamma subunit of F(1) to achieve the 120 degrees (or 90 degrees +30 degrees) stepping action that is characteristic of F(1) gamma subunit rotation.

Resonance energy transfer between tryptophan 57 in the epsilon subunit and pyrene maleimide labeled gamma subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase

The intrinsic fluorescence of the catalytic portion of the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF1) is quenched when cysteine 322, the penultimate amino acid of the gamma subunit, is specifically labeled with pyrene maleimide (PM). The epsilon subunit of CF1 contains the only two residues of tryptophan, which dominate the intrinsic fluorescence of unlabeled CF1. CF1 deficient in the epsilon subunit (CF1-epsilon) was reconstituted with mutant epsilon subunits in which phenylalanine replaced tryptophan at position 15 (epsilonW15F) and position 57 (epsilonW15/57F). CF1(epsilonW15F) containing a single tryptophan, epsilonW57, was labeled with PM at gammaC322. Resonance energy transfer (RET) from epsilonW57 to PM on gammaC322 occurred with an efficiency of energy transfer of 20%. RET was also observed from epsilonW57 to PM attached to the disulfide thiols of the gamma subunit (gammaC199,205) with an efficiency of approximately 45%. The R(o) (the distance at which the efficiency of energy transfer is 50%) for the epsilonW57 and PM donor/acceptor pair is 30 A, indicating that both gammaC322 and gammaC199,205 must be within 40 A of epsilonW57. These RET measurements show that both gammaC322 and gammaC199,205 are located near the base of the alpha/beta hexamer. This places the C-terminus of CF1 gamma much closer to epsilon than hypothesized based on homology to crystal structures of mitochondrial F1. These new RET measurements also allow the alignment of the predicted epsilon subunit structure. The orientation is similar to that predicted from cross-linking and mutational studies for the epsilon subunit of Escherichia coli F1.

Simultaneous measurement of deltapH and electron transport in chloroplast thylakoids by 9-aminoacridine fluorescence

Electron transport and the electrochemical proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane are two fundamental parameters of photosynthesis. A combination of the electron acceptor, ferricyanide and the DeltapH indicator, 9-aminoacridine, was used to measure simultaneously electron transport rates and DeltapH solely by changes in the fluorescence of 9-aminoacridine. This method yields values for the rate of electron transport that are comparable with those obtained by established methods. Using this method a relationship between the rate of electron transport and DeltapH at various uncoupler concentrations or light intensities was obtained. In addition, the method was used to study the effect of reducing the disulfide bridge in the gamma-subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase on the relation of electron transport to DeltapH. When the ATP synthase is reduced and alkylated, the threshold DeltapH at which the ATP synthase becomes leaky to protons is lower compared with the oxidized enzyme. Proton flow through the enzyme at a lower DeltapH may be a key step in initiation of ATP synthesis in the reduced enzyme and may be the way by which reduction of the disulfide bridge in the gamma-subunit enables high rates of ATP synthesis at low DeltapH values.

The participation of metals in the mechanism of the F(1)-ATPase

The Mg(2+) cofactor of the F(1)F(0) ATP synthase is required for the asymmetry of the catalytic sites that leads to the differences in affinity for nucleotides. Vanadyl (V(IV)=O)(2+) is a functional surrogate for Mg(2+) in the F(1)-ATPase. The (51)V-hyperfine parameters derived from EPR spectra of VO(2+) bound to specific sites on the enzyme provide a direct probe of the metal ligands at each site. Site-directed mutations of residues that serve as metal ligands were found to cause measurable changes in the (51)V-hyperfine parameters of the bound VO(2+), thereby providing a means by which metal ligands were identified in the functional enzyme in several conformations. At the low-affinity catalytic site comparable to beta(E) in mitochondrial F(1), activation of the chloroplast F(1)-ATPase activity induces a conformational change that inserts the P-loop threonine and catch-loop tyrosine hydroxyl groups into the metal coordination sphere thereby displacing an amino group and the Walker homology B aspartate. Kinetic evidence suggests that coordination of this tyrosine by the metal when the empty site binds substrate may provide an escapement mechanism that allows the gamma subunit to rotate and the conformation of the catalytic sites to change, thereby allowing rotation only when the catalytic sites are filled. In the high-affinity conformation analogous to the beta(DP) site of mitochondrial F(1), the catch-loop tyrosine has been displaced by carboxyl groups from the Walker homology B aspartate and from betaE197 in Chlamydomonas CF(1). Coordination of the metal by these carboxyl groups contributes significantly to the ability of the enzyme to bind the nucleotide with high affinity.

Influences of energization and nucleotide binding on the reaction of Lucifer Yellow vinyl sulfone with the alpha subunits of the chloroplast ATP synthase

The catalytic portion of the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF(1)) consists of five different polypeptides in the stoichiometry alpha(3)beta(3)gammadeltaepsilon and is structurally asymmetric. Asymmetry is readily apparent in the properties of the six nucleotide binding sites and the single-copy, smaller subunits. Asymmetry is also detected in the alpha subunits by the rapid and covalent binding of Lucifer Yellow vinyl sulfone (LY) to one of the three chemically identical alpha subunits. The binding of LY to a single alpha subunit has allowed the investigation of whether asymmetry in the alpha subunits is a permanent feature of CF(1). The development of an electrochemical proton gradient across illuminated thylakoid membranes and the preincubation of CF(1) in solution with Mg(2+)-ATP were found to alter the LY distribution such that multiple alpha subunits were labeled with LY. Illumination of thylakoid membranes doubled the extent of LY labeling, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements indicated that LY was bound to more than one alpha subunit. Since the change in LY distribution was inhibited by proton ionophores (uncouplers), alteration of alpha conformation by illumination is a result of the generation of a proton gradient. Preincubation of CF(1) in solution with Mg(2+)-ATP had no effect on the extent of LY labeling but resulted in multiple alpha subunits binding LY as determined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements. Adenine nucleotides at substrate level concentrations inhibit the reaction of LY with the alpha subunits. No increase in LY labeling was observed when thylakoids were illuminated under conditions in which CF(1) was catalytically active.

Influence of divalent cations on nucleotide exchange and ATPase activity of chloroplast coupling factor 1

The ATPase activity of the catalytic part of ATP synthases is inhibited by free Mg2+, even though MgATP is the substrate. Here we show that the inhibition of the MgATPase activity of chloroplast coupling factor 1 deficient in its epsilon subunit (CF1-epsilon) by Mg2+ is complex. The hydrolysis of MgATP by CF1-epsilon that contains tightly bound ADP, but no bound Mg2+, is initially rapid and decreases within about 1 min to a steady-state rate. The bound MgADP content of CF1-epsilon was varied. The initial fast phase of MgATP hydrolysis is eliminated when the molar ratio of MgADP to CF1-epsilon approaches 2. Loosely bound Mg2+ also affects the initial kinetics of the enzyme that contains bound MgADP. At molar ratios of bound MgADP to enzyme in excess of 1, the initial ATPase activity was low and reached the steady state after about 30 s. Free Mg2+ in the assay mix also inhibited steady-state ATP hydrolysis by all forms of the enzyme. The results are consistent with a model in which two Mg2+ bind cooperatively, probably to the dissociable nucleotide-binding sites on CF1-epsilon. Thus, four different nucleotide-binding sites may be involved in the inhibition of the MgATPase activity of CF1-epsilon. Three of these sites are potentially catalytic, and the fourth may be regulatory. The exchange of bound trinitrophenyl-ADP induced by the addition of MgATP or CaATP was found to be fast enough for the site to be involved in catalysis.

Asymmetry of the alpha subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase as probed by the binding of Lucifer Yellow vinyl sulfone

The catalytic portion of the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF1) is structurally asymmetric. Asymmetry of the otherwise symmetrical alpha3beta3 heterohexamer is induced by the presence of tightly bound nucleotides and interactions with the single-copy, smaller subunits. Lucifer Yellow vinyl sulfone (4-amino-N-[3-(vinylsulfonyl)phenyl]naphthalimide-3,6-disulfonic acid) rapidly and covalently binds to lysine 378 on one alpha subunit [Nalin, C. M., Snyder, B., and McCarty, R. E., (1985) Biochemistry 24, 2318-2324] [Shapiro, A. B. (1991) Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY). The asymmetrical binding of Lucifer Yellow to CF1 provides a method to investigate the cause of asymmetry in the alpha subunits. The reaction of CF1 with Lucifer Yellow was monitored by total fluorescence of bound Lucifer Yellow as well as by quantitative determination of Lucifer Yellow bound to the tryptic peptide that contains lysine 378 of the alpha subunit. The total binding of Lucifer Yellow to CF1 was not affected by the presence of tightly bound nucleotides or nucleotide in the medium. Neither the total binding of Lucifer Yellow to CF1 nor the reaction of alpha-lysine 378 with Lucifer Yellow was changed by the removal of the epsilon subunit, the delta subunit, or both subunits. The extent of incorporation of Lucifer Yellow into lysine 378 of the alpha subunit in (alphabeta)n was about three times that of Lucifer Yellow incorporation into CF1. Reconstitution of (alphabeta)n with gamma restored the binding of one Lucifer Yellow per alpha3beta3gamma. Therefore, the interactions between gamma and the alphabeta heterohexamer are important in conferring asymmetry to the alpha subunits of CF1.

Thermophilic F1-ATPase is activated without dissociation of an endogenous inhibitor, epsilon subunit

Subunit complexes (alpha3beta3gamma, alpha3beta3gammadelta, alpha3beta3gammaepsilon, and alpha3beta3gammadeltaepsilon) of thermophilic F1-ATPase were prepared, and their catalytic properties were compared to know the role of delta and epsilon subunits in catalysis. The presence of delta subunit in the complexes had slight inhibitory effect on the ATPase activity. The effect of epsilon subunit was more profound. The (-epsilon) complexes, alpha3beta3gamma and alpha3beta3gammadelta, initiated ATP hydrolysis without a lag. In contrast, the (+epsilon) complexes, alpha3beta3gammaepsilon and alpha3beta3gammadeltaepsilon, started hydrolysis of ATP (<700 microM) with a lag phase that was gradually activated during catalytic turnover. As ATP concentration increased, the lag phase of the (+epsilon) complexes became shorter, and it was not observed above 1 mM ATP. Analysis of binding and hydrolysis of the ATP analog, 2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-ATP, suggested that the (+epsilon) complexes bound substrate only slowly. Differing from Escherichia coli F1-ATPase, the activation of the (+epsilon) complexes from the lag phase was not due to dissociation of epsilon subunit since the re-isolated activated complex retained epsilon subunit. This indicates that there are two alternative forms of the (+epsilon) complex, inhibited form and activated form, and the inhibited one is converted to the activated one during catalytic turnover.

The ATP synthase--a splendid molecular machine

An X-ray structure of the F1 portion of the mitochondrial ATP synthase shows asymmetry and differences in nucleotide binding of the catalytic beta subunits that support the binding change mechanism with an internal rotation of the gamma subunit. Other structural and mutational probes of the F1 and F0 portions of the ATP synthase are reviewed, together with kinetic and other evaluations of catalytic site occupancy and behavior during hydrolysis or synthesis of ATP. Subunit function as related to proton translocation and rotational catalysis is considered. Physical demonstrations of the gamma subunit rotation have been achieved. The findings have implications for other enzymatic catalyses.

The chloroplast ATP synthase: structural changes during catalysis

This article summarizes some of the evidence for the existence of light-driven structural changes in the epsilon and gamma subunits of the chloroplast ATP synthase. Formation of a transmembrane proton gradient results in: (1) a changed in the position of the epsilon subunit such that it becomes exposed to polyclonal antibodies and to reagents which selectively modify epsilon Lys109; (2) enhanced solvent accessibility of several sulfhydryl residues on the gamma subunit; and (3) release/exchange of tightly bound ADP from the enzyme. Theses and related experimental observations can, at least partially, be explained in terms of two different bound conformational states of the epsilon subunit. Evidence for structural changes in the enzyme which are driven by light or nucleotide binding is discussed with special reference to the popular rotational model for catalysis.

Differences between two tight ADP binding sites of the chloroplast coupling factor 1 and their effects on ATPase activity

Purified chloroplast ATP synthase (CF1) contains 1.2-2 mol of tightly bound ADP/mol of enzyme that resists removal by gel filtration or dialysis. CF1 was depleted of its endogenous nucleotide by treatment with alkaline phosphatase. Tightly bound nucleotide was demonstrated not to have an essential structural role. CF1 depleted of endogenous nucleotide retains its ability to catalyze Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity and is not more sensitive to cold inactivation than untreated CF1. 2'(3')-O-Trinitrophenyladenosine 5'-diphosphate (TNP-ADP) binds tightly to two sites on nucleotide-depleted CF1, binding to either site at a faster rate than that of exchange of bound nucleotide for medium nucleotide. The nucleotide-depleted enzyme binds about one additional mol of TNP-ADP/mol of CF1, indicating that there is a tight TNP-ADP binding site that does not exchange readily with medium nucleotide. It is MgADP in this nonexchanging site, not the easily exchanging ADP binding site, that is responsible for the MgADP-induced inhibition of the ATPase activity. The rate of exchange of tightly bound ADP from CF1 matches the rate at which the Mg2+ATPase activity of CF1 is activated but is not itself responsible for the activation.

Influence of nucleotides on the cold stability of chloroplast coupling factor 1

Chloroplast coupling factor 1 (CF1), a cold-labile enzyme, contains six nucleotide binding sites. These sites are located at the alpha/beta interfaces of the alpha 3 beta 3 heterohexamer. The cold lability of CF1 is decreased by the presence of nucleotides in the medium. We have studied the influence of both different nucleotides and different binding sites on the cold dissociation of CF1. To monitor the dissociation of CF1 during cold treatment, 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) was employed. The increase in ANS fluorescence during cold treatment is the result of increased accessibility of intersubunit hydrophobic regions as the complex dissociates. Mg(2+)-adenosine triphosphates, tightly bound to CF1, markedly stabilize the enzyme in the cold. ADP only protects CF1 from dissociating in the cold when it is bound to the loose sites or when it is bound in conjunction with Mg2+. CF1 that contained 2 mol of ADP/mol and little bound Mg2+ was nearly as cold labile as CF1 that contained just 0.2 mol of ADP/mol. When about one of the two bound ADPs was replaced with adenylyl beta, gamma-imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP), some protection from cold dissociation was observed. These results show that the site(s) occupied, as well as the nucleotides they contain, strongly influence(s) the structural stability of CF1.

Conformational changes in the Escherichia coli ATP synthase (ECF1F0) monitored by nucleotide-dependent differences in the reactivity of Cys-87 of the gamma subunit in the mutant betaGlu-381 --> Ala

Cys-87, one of two intrinsic cysteines of the gamma subunit of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase (ECF1F0), is in a short segment of this subunit that binds to the bottom domain of a beta subunit close to a glutamate (Glu-381). Cys-87 was unreactive to maleimides under all conditions in wild-type ECF1 and ECF1F0 but became reactive when Glu-381 of beta was replaced by a cysteine or alanine. The reactivity of Cys-87 with maleimides was nucleotide-dependent, occurring with ATP or ADP + EDTA in catalytic sites, in the presence of AMP.PNP + Mg2+ but not with ADP + Mg2+ bound, whether Pi was present or not, and not when nucleotide binding sites were empty. Binding of N-ethylmaleimide had no effect, whereas 7-diethyl-amino-3-(4'-maleimidylphenyl)-4-methylcoumarin increased the ATPase activity of ECF1 more than 2-fold by reaction with Cys-87. In ECF1F0, these reagents inhibited activity. The nucleotide dependence of the reaction of Cys-87 of the gamma subunit depended on the presence of the epsilon subunit. In epsilon subunit-free ECF1, maleimides reacted with Cys-87 under all nucleotide conditions, including when catalytic sites were empty. These results are discussed in terms of nucleotide-dependent movements of the gamma subunit during functioning of the F1F0-type ATPase.

Structural stability of chloroplast coupling factor 1 determined by differential scanning calorimetry and cold inactivation

At least part of the gamma subunit of the catalytic portion of the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF1) is present in the middle of the alpha3beta3 heterohexamer. Interactions of the alpha/beta subunits with the gamma subunit stabilize the hexameric structure. Surprisingly, neither reduction of the gamma disulfide nor selective proteolysis of alpha, beta and gamma affects the thermal stability of EDTA-treated CF1 preparations, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Dissociation of the enzyme in the cold may be monitored by loss of the ATPase activity of CF1 subunit depleted of its epsilon subunit [CF1(-epsilon)]. The rate of cold inactivation of ATPase activity of reduced and alkylated CF1(-epsilon) treated with trypsin in solution was much faster than that CF1(-epsilon)(8.1 versus 38.7 min, respectively, for 50% loss of activity). The increased cold liability of the trypsin-treated enzyme was not a consequence of the cleavage of the gamma. CF1 incubated with trypsin under conditions in which gamma is not cleaved was as cold labile as CF1 with cleaved gamma. Instead, loss of the delta subunit and a few residues from the C-terminal of the beta subunits were responsible for the increased cold liability of the enzyme.

Proteolytic cleavage within a regulatory region of the gamma subunit of chloroplast coupling factor 1

The gamma subunit of chloroplast coupling factor 1 (CF1) is susceptible to selective proteolysis when the enzyme is in solution and the epsilon subunit is removed [CF1(-epsilon)]. In spinach thylakoid membranes, rapid cleavage of gamma is dependent on the generation of an electrochemical proton potential. The tryptic cleavage sites within the gamma of oxidized CF1 in illuminated thylakoids as well as of reduced CF1(-epsilon) in solution were determined by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Two large gamma fragments of 27 000 (gamma27) and 10 000 (gammma10) molecular weight were generated by trypsin treatment of membrane-bound CF1. THe N-terminal gamma27 contains amino acids 1-215, and the C-terminal gamma10 contains 232-323. These polypeptides were tightly associated with the trypsin-resistant core of the enzyme. In contrast, three large gamma fragments were produced by trypsinolysis of reduced CF1(-epsilon). These polypeptides, which were also tightly associated with the trypsin-resistant core, have molecular weights of 7 900(gamma8), 14 850 (gamma15), and 10 000 (gamma10). These fragments contain residues 1-70, 71-204, and 232-323, respectively. The C-terminal gamma10 fragment generated by trypsin treatment of membrane-bound and soluble CF1 are identical. These results suggest that the gamma subunit of CF1 in illuminated thylakoids resembles that of CF1(-epsilon) with respect to accessibility to proteolytic cleavage. Cleavage of gamma between residues 215 and 232 is sufficient to fully activate the ATPase activity of the enzyme without reduction of the gamma disulfide. In addition, cutting within this region is responsible for loss of affinity for the inhibitory epsilon subunit.

Characterization of the interface between gamma and epsilon subunits of Escherichia coli F1-ATPase

The interaction faces of the gamma and epsilon subunits in the Escherichia coli F1-ATPase have been explored by a combination of cross-linking and chemical modification experiments using several mutant epsilon subunits as follows: epsilonS10C, epsilonH38C, epsilonT43C, epsilonS65C, epsilonS108C, and epsilonM138C, along with a mutant of the gamma subunit, gammaT106C. The replacement of Ser-10 by a Cys or Met-138 by a Cys reduced the inhibition of ECF1 by the epsilon subunit, while the mutation S65C increased this inhibitory effect. Modification of the Cys at position 10 with N-ethylmaleimide or fluoroscein maleimide further reduced the binding affinity of, and the maximal inhibition by, the epsilon subunit. Similar chemical modification of the Cys at position 43 of the epsilon subunit (in the mutant epsilonT43C) and a Cys at position 106 of the gamma subunit (gammaT106C) also affected the inhibition of ECF1 by the epsilon subunit. The various epsilon subunit mutants were reacted with TFPAM3, and the site(s) of cross-linking within the ECF1 complex was determined. Previous studies have shown cross-linking from the Cys at positions 10 and 38 with the gamma subunit and from a Cys at position 108 to an alpha subunit (Aggeler, R., Chicas-Cruz, K., Cai, S. X., Keana, J. F. W., and Capaldi, R. A. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 2956-2961; Aggeler, R., Weinreich, F., and Capaldi, R. A. (1995) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1230, 62-68). Here, cross-linking was found from a Cys at position 43 to the gamma subunit and from the Cys at position 138 to a beta subunit. The site of cross-linking from Cys-10 of epsilon to the gamma subunit was localized by peptide mapping to a region of the gamma subunit between residues 222 and 242. Cross-linking from a Cys at position 38 and at position 43 was with the C-terminal part of the gamma subunit, between residues 202 and 286. ECF1 treated with trypsin at pH 7.0 still binds purified epsilon subunit, while enzyme treated with the protease at pH 8.0 does not. This identifies sites around residue 70 and/or between 202 and 212 of the gamma subunit as involved in epsilon subunit binding.