Estimation of H+ to adenosine 5'-triphosphate stoichiometry of Escherichia coli ATP synthase using 31P NMR.

High-field 31P NMR techniques have been used to measure transmembrane delta pH in wild-type, unc A, and hem A mutants of Escherichia coli. delta psi was measured by distribution methods with radioactive tetraphenylphosphonium bromide and 86Rb+ ions as the probes, while intracellular ATP, ADP, and inorganic phosphate concentrations were determined from the 31P NMR spectra. delta G'p and the stoichiometry for ATP synthesis [delta G'p/(F delta p)] were then calculated. The stoichiometry of the ATP synthase was found to vary as a function of the cellular metabolic state. In nongrowing, wild-type cells delta p was 192 +/- 16 mV with succinate as the substrate and saturating oxygen tension. With limiting oxygen (congruent to microM oxygen), delta p was 125 +/- 14 mV. Nucleoside triphosphate synthesis was observed in both cases. The H+/ATP stoichiometry varied from 2.15 +/- 0.35 under aerobic conditions to 3.6 +/- 0.8 at low oxygen tension. delta p for unc A cells was 140 +/- 14 mV with glucose as the substrate (greater than 2.5 microM oxygen) and for hem A mutants was 115 +/- 10 mV. The bulk phase potentials in oxygen-limited, wild-type cells and in respiratory deficient (hem A) cells are comparable, but in the former the ATPase is poised for synthesis while in the latter it generates delta p. The data support a role for localized interactions between the redox and the ATPase sites.