Abstract
The\(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \) and the ΔGp have been measured in whole cells ofMethylophilus methylotrophus during the oxidation of various respiratory chain substrates. The magnitude of the\(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \) depended on the external pH and the composition of the assay medium, and varied from-109 to-165 mV. The relative contributions of the ΔΨ and the ΔpH to the\(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \) were found to vary with the external pH such that the internal pH remained constant; depending on the composition of the assay medium, this value was between 6.6 and 7.0. A ΔGp of approximately-46 kJ/mol was generated during the oxidation of methanol, and either the ΔΨ or ΔpH alone was fully competent to drive ATP synthesis. Respiration and ATP synthesis were found to be poised far from equilibrium under the conditions of these experiments, and the value of the ΔGp was thus controlled kinetically. Comparison of the\(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \) with the ΔGp yielded an →H+/ATP quotient >2.6 g-ion H+/mol ATP.
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Abbreviations
- TMPD:
-
N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine
- FCCP:
-
carbonylcyanidep-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone
- DMO:
-
5,5′-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4-dione
- TPMP+ :
-
triphenylmethylphosphonium (iodide salt); Tween 20, polyoxyethylenesorbitan monolaurate
- TPP+ :
-
tetraphenylphosphonium (bromide salt)
- \(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \) :
-
bulk phase transmembrane electrochemical potential difference of protons (\(\bar \mu H_{^{in} }^ + - \bar \mu H_{^{out} }^ + \))
- ΔpH:
-
bulk phase transmembrane pH difference (pHin-pHout)
- ΔΨ:
-
bulk phase transmembrane electrical potential difference (Ψin-Ψout)
- Δp:
-
true protonmotive force (incorporating both bulk phase and localised protons;\(\Delta \bar \mu H^ + \))
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Dawson, M.J., Jones, C.W. The protonmotive force and phosphorylation potential developed by whole cells of the methylotrophic bacteriumMethylophilus methylotrophus . Arch. Microbiol. 133, 55–61 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00943770
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00943770