Rotary catalysis of F_oF₁-ATP synthase

抄録

The synthesis of ATP, the key reaction of biological energy metabolism, is accomplished by the rotary motor protein; F_oF₁-ATP synthase (F_oF₁). In vivo, F_oF_1, located on the cell membrane, carries out ATP synthesis by using the proton motive force. This heterologous energy conversion is supposed to be mediated by the mechanical rotation of F_oF₁; however, it still remained unclear. Recently, we developed the novel experimental setup to reproduce the proton motive force in vitro and succeeded in directly observing the proton-driven rotation of F_oF₁. In this review, we describe the interesting working principles determined so far for F_oF₁ and then introduce results from our recent study.