The mechanism of inhibition of yeast mitochondrial F 1 -ATPase by its natural regulatory peptide, IF1, was investigated by correlating the rate of inhibition by IF1 with the nucleotide occupancy of the catalytic sites. Nucleotide occupancy of the catalytic sites was probed by fluorescence quenching of a tryptophan, which was engineered in the catalytic site (-Y345W). Fluorescence quenching of a -Trp 345 indicates that the binding of MgADP to F 1 can be described as 3 binding sites with dissociation constants of K d1 ؍ 10 ؎ 2 nM, K d2 ؍ 0.22 ؎ 0.03 M, and K d3 ؍ 16.3 ؎ 0.2 M. In addition, the ATPase activity of the -Trp 345 enzyme followed simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a corresponding K m of 55 M. Values for the K d for MgATP were estimated and indicate that the K m (55 M) for ATP hydrolysis corresponds to filling the third catalytic site on F 1 . IF1 binds very slowly to F 1 -ATPase depleted of nucleotides and under unisite conditions. The rate of inhibition by IF1 increased with increasing concentration of MgATP to about 50 M, but decreased thereafter. The rate of inhibition was half-maximal at 5 M MgATP, which is 10-fold lower than the K m for ATPase. The variations of the rate of IF1 binding are related to changes in the conformation of the IF1 binding site during the catalytic reaction cycle of ATP hydrolysis. A model is proposed that suggests that IF1 binds rapidly, but loosely to F 1 with two or three catalytic sites filled, and is then locked in the enzyme during catalytic hydrolysis of ATP.F 0 F 1 1 proton ATPases (or ATP synthases), present in energytransducing membranes, are molecular motors powered by a protonmotive force generated by an electron transport chain (1). ATP synthases catalyze the phosphorylation of ADP forming ATP. The ATP synthase consists of two subcomplexes: F 0 and F 1 . F 0 is an integral membrane protein complex minimally composed of a 1 b 1 c 10 and it acts as a proton-driven turbine (2). The extrinsic F 1 moiety is composed of five different subunits with the stoichiometry ␣ 3  3 ␥␦⑀. F 1 contains three catalytic and three non-catalytic nucleotide-binding sites, located at ␣/ interfaces (3-4). F 1 and F 0 are connected by a central stalk composed of the ␥, ␦, and ⑀ subunits.In the mitochondrion, movement of protons from the cytosol to the matrix drives the F 0 turbine, which rotates the central stalk. There is a second or peripheral stalk, which holds together the static parts of the machine including the core F 1 unit. Rotation of the central stalk in F 1 sequentially modifies the interactions of the ␥-subunit with each of the catalytic sites thereby altering the nucleotide affinity of each of the three catalytic sites. Thus, F 1 has 3 catalytic sites each with different catalytic properties including their affinity for nucleotides.F 1 couples ATP hydrolysis to the rotation of the ␥ subunit in the opposite direction of that observed during ATP synthesis (5-6). Single-molecule studies indicated that hydrolysis of ATP is coupled with 120°rotation of the ␥-subuni...