ATP Synthase Mitochondrial F1 Complex Assembly Factor 1 (ATPAF1)

ATPAF1 encodes an assembly factor for the F(1) component of the mitochondrial ATP synthase. This protein binds specifically to the F1 beta subunit and is thought to prevent this subunit from forming nonproductive homooligomers during enzyme assembly. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been identified, but the biological validity of some of these variants has not been determined.In yeast, Atp11 is required for the proper assembly of the F1 component of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex. By database analysis they identified the complete transcript, which encodes a deduced 328-amino acid protein with an N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence. EST database analysis and SAGE data indicated that ATPAF1 is widely expressed at moderate abundance.