Structural study on the architecture of the bacterial ATP synthase Fo motor

We purified the F-o complex from the Ilyobacter tartaricus Na+-translocating F1Fo-ATP synthase and performed a biochemical and structural study. Laser-induced liquid bead ion desorption MS analysis demonstrates that all three subunits of the isolated F-o complex were present and in native stoichiometry (ab(2)c(11)). Cryoelectron microscopy of 2D crystals yielded a projection map at a resolution of 7.0 angstrom showing electron densities from the c(11) rotor ring and up to seven adjacent helices. A bundle of four helices belongs to the stator a-subunit and is in contact with c(11). A fifth helix adjacent to the four-helix bundle interacts very closely with a c-subunit helix, which slightly shifts its position toward the ring center. Atomic force microscopy confirms the presence of the F-o stator, and a height profile reveals that it protrudes less from the membrane than c(11). The data limit the dimensions of the subunit a/c-ring interface: Three helices from the stator region are in contact with three c(11) helices. The location and distances of the stator helices impose spatial restrictions on the bacterial F-o complex.