Identification of the P-loop lysine as a metal ligand in the absence of nucleotide at catalytic site 3 of chloroplast F₁-ATPase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Site-directed mutations were made to the phosphate-binding loop lysine in the β-subunit of the chloroplast F₁-ATPase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (βK167) to investigate the participation of this residue in the binding of metal to catalytic site 3 in the absence of nucleotide. The cw-EPR spectra of VO²⁺ bound to site 3 of CF₁-ATPase from wild type and mutants revealed changes in metal ligation resulting from mutations to βK167. The three-pulse ESEEM spectrum of the wild-type CF₁-ATPase with VO²⁺ bound to site 3 shows an equatorially coordinating ¹⁴N from an amine. The ESEEM spectra of the mutants do not show evidence of an equatorially coordinating amine group. The results presented here show that, in the absence of nucleotide, βK167 is a ligand to the metal bound at catalytic site 3, suggesting a regulatory role for the P-loop lysine in addition to its known role in catalysis.