ATP synthase couples transmembrane proton transport, driven by the proton motive force (pmf), to the synthesis of ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate (P i ). In certain bacteria, the reaction is reversed and the enzyme generates pmf, working as a proton-pumping ATPase. The ATPase activity of bacterial enzymes is prone to inhibition by both ADP and the C-terminal domain of subunit ⑀. We studied the effects of ADP, P i , pmf, and the C-terminal domain of subunit ⑀ on the ATPase activity of thermophilic Bacillus PS3 and Escherichia coli ATP synthases. We found that pmf relieved ADP inhibition during steady-state ATP hydrolysis, but only in the presence of P i . The C-terminal domain of subunit ⑀ in the Bacillus PS3 enzyme enhanced ADP inhibition by counteracting the effects of pmf. It appears that these features allow the enzyme to promptly respond to changes in the ATP:ADP ratio and in pmf levels in order to avoid potentially wasteful ATP hydrolysis in vivo.ATP synthase (F O F 1 ) is a ubiquitous enzyme present in the plasma membrane of bacteria, the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts, and the inner mitochondrial membrane. The enzyme catalyzes ATP synthesis coupled to transmembrane proton translocation 2 driven by the proton motive force (pmf).3 At low pmf the activity is reversed and the enzyme functions as a proton-pumping ATPase. ATP synthase consists of two distinct regions: the hydrophobic F O , which is embedded in the membrane, and the hydrophilic F 1 that protrudes ϳ100 Å from the membrane bilayer. F 1 contains three catalytic and three non-catalytic nucleotide-binding sites and is responsible for both ATP synthesis and hydrolysis reactions. F O performs transmembrane proton transport. The simplest subunit composition is found in bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli or thermophilic Bacillus PS3; see Refs. 1 and 2 for reviews), where F 1 is a complex of five types of subunits at a stoichiometry of ␣ 3  3 ␥ 1 ␦ 1 ⑀ 1 , and F O is a complex of three types of subunits at a stoichiometry of a 1 b 2 c 10 .It is now widely accepted that the enzyme operates according to the "binding change mechanism" (see Ref. 3 and the references therein). Briefly, proton translocation is coupled to the rotation of the c-ring oligomer (4) together with the ␥⑀ complex relative to the rest of the enzyme (see Refs. 5-7 and references therein for details). Rotation of the ␥ subunit inside the ␣ 3  3 hexamer causes sequential conformational changes to the catalytic sites. These sequential conformational changes result in substrate binding, the chemical step, and product release (8 -10). This "rotary binding change mechanism" is usually considered reversible, and numerous demonstrations of ATPdriven proton pumping support this assumption. However, several observations indicate that this is not the case. Many factors (e.g. products/substrates of catalysis, inhibitors, inorganic anions, etc.) affect ATP synthesis and the hydrolysis activities of the enzyme (see Ref. 11 for a detailed discussion). One of the most well known anisotropic reg...