To study domain organization and movements in the reaction cycle of heavy metal ion pumps, CopA, a bacterial Cu ؉ -ATPase from Thermotoga maritima was cloned, overexpressed, and purified, and then subjected to limited proteolysis using papain. Stable analogs of intermediate states were generated using AMPPCP as a nonhydrolyzable ATP analog and AlF x as a phosphate analog, following conditions established for Ca 2؉ -ATPase (SERCA1). Characteristic digestion patterns obtained for different analog intermediates show that CopA undergoes domain rearrangements very similar to those of SERCA1. Digestion sites were identified on the loops connecting the A-domain and the transmembrane helices M2 and M3 as well as on that connecting the N-terminal metal binding domain (NMBD) and the first transmembrane helix, Ma. These digestion sites were protected in the E1P⅐ADP and E2P analogs, whereas the M2-Adomain loop was cleaved specifically in the absence of ions to be transported, just as in SERCA1. ATPase activity was lost when the link between the NMBD and the transmembrane domain was cleaved, indicating that the NMBD plays a critical role in ATP hydrolysis in T. maritima CopA. The change in susceptibility of the loop between the NMBD and Ma helix provides evidence that the NMBD is associated to the A-domain and recruited into domain rearrangements and that the Ma helix is the counterpart of the M1 helix in SERCA1 and Mb and Mc are uniquely inserted before M2.Ion homeostasis is essential in all living organisms. Gradients for sodium and potassium across the cell membrane provide energy for action potentials. Calcium is the most commonly used ion for regulation of protein function. Zinc, ferrous, and copper ions, whereas they are toxic when present in excess, are indispensable cofactors for a variety of proteins, including enzymes involved in the respiratory chain (1). In maintaining the concentrations of these physiologically important ions, P-type ATPases play a principal role (2, 3). P-type ATPases translocate specific ions against their electrochemical gradient across membranes using free energy liberated by ATP hydrolysis. Based on the primary structures, the P-type ATPase family can be divided into five branches, which are referred to as type I-V (4 , and Ca 2ϩ (3, 4). X-ray crystallography of Ca 2ϩ -ATPase (SERCA1) 2 has revealed how PII-type ATPases work by providing the atomic structures in 6 states (6 -11) that cover nearly the entire reaction cycle. The ATPase consists of 3 cytoplasmic domains termed P (phosphorylation), N (nucleotide binding), and A (actuator) and 10 (M1-M10) transmembrane helices, some of which contain acidic residues that constitute high affinity binding sites for ions transported (6). With PIB-type ATPase, atomic structures have been determined for only cytoplasmic domains (12)(13)(14). It is now clear that PIB-type ATPases also comprise 3 cytoplasmic domains and their core structures are very similar to those of SERCA1 (13,14), although there are significant differences in the regions seemingly ...