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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2007, p. 5895-5902, Vol. 189, No. 16
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00581-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Oligomeric State of c Rings from Cyanobacterial F-ATP Synthases Varies from 13 to 15{triangledown}

Denys Pogoryelov,1,2,{dagger} Christian Reichen,1,{dagger} Adriana L. Klyszejko,3 René Brunisholz,4 Daniel J. Muller,3 Peter Dimroth,1* and Thomas Meier2*

Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland,1 Max-Planck-Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany,2 Center for Biotechnology, University of Technology, Tatzberg 49, 01307 Dresden, Germany,3 Functional Genomics Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland4

Received 16 April 2007/ Accepted 22 May 2007

We isolated the c rings of F-ATP synthases from eight cyanobacterial strains belonging to four different taxonomic classes (Chroococcales, Nostocales, Oscillatoriales, and Gloeobacteria). These c rings showed different mobilities on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), probably reflecting their molecular masses. This supposition was validated with the previously characterized c11, c14, and c15 rings, which migrated on SDS-PAGE in proportion to their molecular masses. Hence, the masses of the cyanobacterial c rings can conveniently be deduced from their electrophoretic mobilities and, together with the masses of the c monomers, allow the calculation of the c ring stoichiometries. The method is a simple and fast way to determine stoichiometries of SDS-stable c rings and hence a convenient means to unambiguously determine the ion-to-ATP ratio, a parameter reflecting the bioenergetic efficacy of F-ATP synthases. AFM imaging was used to prove the accuracy of the method and confirmed that the c ring of Synechococcus elongatus SAG 89.79 is a tridecameric oligomer. Despite the high conservation of the c-subunit sequences from cyanobacterial strains from various environmental groups, the stoichiometries of their c rings varied between c13 and c15. This systematic study of the c-ring stoichiometries suggests that variability of c-ring sizes might represent an adaptation of the individual cyanobacterial species to their particular environmental and physiological conditions. Furthermore, the two new examples of c15 rings underline once more that an F1/Fo symmetry mismatch is not an obligatory feature of all F-ATP synthases.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address for T. Meier: Max-Planck-Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Phone: 49-69-63033038. Fax: 49-69-63033002. E-mail: thomas.meier{at}mpibp-frankfurt.mpg.de. Mailing address for P. Dimroth: Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland. Phone: 41-44-6323321. Fax: 41-44-6321378. E-mail: dimroth{at}micro.biol.ethz.ch

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 June 2007.

{dagger} D. Pogoryelov and C. Reichen contributed equally to this paper.

Journal of Bacteriology, August 2007, p. 5895-5902, Vol. 189, No. 16
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00581-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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