Vacuolar-type ATPases (V-ATPases)1 are membrane-bound proteins functioning in active ion pumping at the expense of ATP hydrolysis. They are present in the membranes of all eukaryotic cells and the plasma membrane of some bacteria (1-3). V-ATPases are responsible for acidification of intracellular compartments and generation of an electrochemical gradient (ion motive force) (4, 5). These enzymes consist of two structural and functional parts, a hydrophilic, V 1 , and hydrophobic, V O , portion. The V 1 part contains eight (A-H) and seven subunits (A-G) in the cases of the eukaryotic and prokaryotic enzymes, respectively (3, 4). V O in eukaryotes consists of subunits a, c, and d, corresponding to subunits I, K, and C in prokaryotic V-ATPases (Enterococcus hirae nomenclature). Phylogenetic (6, 7), biochemical (8), and structural studies of V-ATPases (reviewed in Refs. 3, 9, and 10) show its relation to the well characterized F-ATPases (11, 12). Because of the structural similarity, it is believed that the energy-coupling mechanism of ATP hydrolysis and ion translocation is similar to that in F-ATPases (13). Therefore, the ATP hydrolysis in the A 3 B 3 hexamer of V 1 might trigger the rotational movement(s) of the central stalk subunit(s). Rotation of the central stalk transfers a generated torque to the ring of the c (K) subunits in the V O part (13), resulting in the pumping of ions over the membrane. The stability of the A 3 B 3 hexamer against rotation is provided by peripheral stalk(s) connecting static subunits of V 1 and V O .Despite assigned similarity in the catalytic mechanism, a growing amount of evidence suggests that some structural features and regulatory mechanisms of both enzymes are different, reflecting diversities in their functions and evolution (for review, see Ref. 14). The most significant structural difference is shown in the stalk(s) region. Unlike F-ATPases, where the presence of only one peripheral stalk was reported (15, 16), two or three peripheral stalks were described for the V-ATPase (17-19). The structure of the central stalk in the V-ATPase also seems to be more complicated. Electron microscopy (20) and small angle x-ray scattering studies (21) indicated that the central stalk of V-ATPase is rather elongated when compared with that in the F-ATPase. The exact assignment of the subunits involved in these stalk region formations is a matter of debate, and it is difficult to identify the V-ATPase stalk subunits that have significant sequence similarity to the stalk subunits of the F-ATPase (3). According to secondary structure prediction, the V-ATPase subunits D and E can be candidates for the homologue role of the rotating ␥ subunit in F-ATPase (22,23). Experiments on assembly of the V-ATPase from yeast indicate that either the D or E subunits, or both, might be a functional homologue of subunit ␥ (24). Recently, hydrolytically active A 3 B 3 EC and A 3 B 3 EG subcomplexes from Caloramator fervidus (25) and Manduca sexta (26) V-ATPase, respectively, were visualized by electron microsco...