؉ -transport. Proton pumping by the reconstituted mutant enzyme was completely abolished, whereas ATP was still hydrolyzed. The mutant was insensitive to the inhibitor vanadate, which preferentially binds to P-type ATPases in the E 2 conformation. During catalysis the Asp 684 3 Asn enzyme accumulated a phosphorylated intermediate whose stability was sensitive to addition of ADP. We conclude that the mutant enzyme is locked in the E 1 conformation and is unable to proceed through the E 1 P-E 2 P transition. P-type ATPases are relatively small ion pumps with a single catalytic subunit, and are characterized by forming a phosphorylated (hence P-type) intermediate during the reaction cycle (1). Plant plasma membrane H ϩ -ATPases belong to the subgroup of P 3 -type ATPases, which comprises proton pumps and is closely related to the subgroup of P 2 -type ATPases, which includes cation pumps such as the mammalian Na ϩ /K ϩ -, Ca 2ϩ -, and H ϩ