In yeast cells, subunit a of the vacuolar proton pump (VATPase) is encoded by two organelle-specific isoforms, VPH1 and STV1. V-ATPases containing Vph1 and Stv1 localize predominantly to the vacuole and the Golgi apparatus/endosomes, respectively. Ratiometric measurements of vacuolar pH confirm that loss of STV1 has little effect on vacuolar pH. Loss of VPH1 results in vacuolar alkalinization that is even more rapid and pronounced than in vma mutants, which lack all V-ATPase activity. Cytosolic pH responses to glucose addition in the vph1⏠mutant are similar to those in vma mutants. The extended cytosolic acidification in these mutants arises from reduced activity of the plasma membrane proton pump, Pma1p. Pma1p is mislocalized in vma mutants but remains at the plasma membrane in both vph1⏠and stv1⏠mutants, suggesting multiple mechanisms for limiting Pma1 activity when organelle acidification is compromised. pH measurements in early prevacuolar compartments via a pHluorin fusion to the Golgi protein Gef1 demonstrate that pH responses of these compartments parallel cytosolic pH changes. Surprisingly, these compartments remain acidic even in the absence of V-ATPase function, possibly as a result of cytosolic acidification. These results emphasize that loss of a single subunit isoform may have effects far beyond the organelle where it resides.Vacuolar proton-translocating ATPases (V-ATPases) 3 acidify multiple organelles, including mammalian lysosomes, plant and fungal vacuoles, the Golgi apparatus, endosomes, and regulated secretory granules. Through their effects on organelle acidification, V-ATPases impact numerous cellular processes including protein sorting, macromolecular degradation, cytosolic pH and ion homeostasis, and nutrient storage and mobilization (1, 2). Consistent with these diverse roles, complete loss of V-ATPase function is lethal in most organisms. Fungi, however, can tolerate a complete loss of V-ATPase function, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae has emerged as a major model system for mechanistic studies of V-ATPases (3). Yeast mutants lacking V-ATPase activity (vma mutants) show a well defined set of Vma ÏȘ growth phenotypes, including sensitivity to high extracellular pH, high Ca 2Ï© concentrations, and heavy metals (4).V-ATPases are highly conserved both at the level of individual subunit sequences and at an overall structural level. A complex of peripheral membrane subunits containing the sites of ATP hydrolysis, V 1 , is attached to an integral membrane complex, V o , containing the proton pore. In higher eukaryotes, many of the subunits are present as multiple isoforms, encoded as multiple genes and/or splice variants (5). These subunit isoforms exhibit tissue-specific expression and/or organelle-specific localization, and in some cases, impart different biochemical characteristics on V-ATPases, possibly tuning their activity to the requirements of different locales (2). Subunit a of the V o sector is present as multiple isoforms in many organisms. Humans have four different subunit a genes (...