cd01132

F1 ATP synthase alpha, central domain. The F-ATPase is found in bacterial plasma membranes, mitochondrial inner membranes and in chloroplast thylakoid membranes. It has also been found in the archaea Methanosarcina barkeri. It uses a proton gradient to drive ATP synthesis and hydrolyzes ATP to build the proton gradient. The extrinisic membrane domain, F1, is composed of alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon subunits with a stoichiometry of 3:3:1:1:1. The alpha subunit of the F1 ATP synthase can bind nucleotides, but is non-catalytic.