Analyzing the direction of F 1 -ATPase subunit Q Q rotation, its shape and non-random distribution of surface residues, a mechanism is proposed for how Q Q induces the closing/ opening of the catalytic sites at L L/K K interfaces: by keeping contact with the mobile domain of subunits L L at the 'jaw' (D386, the seven consecutive hydrophobic residues and D394/ E395), rotating Q Q works as a screw conveyer within the barrel of (K K,L L) 3 3 . This rotation, in turn, is energized by a rotation of the connected membrane integral rotor of F o c subunits driven by H þ e¥ux. A topological problem arises, however, when the information on (1) the direction of the rotation of subunits Q/O in the bacterial enzyme(s) during ATP hydrolysis [14,15] and (2) the X-ray structure of the bovine enzyme [16^18] is correlated with (3) the sequence of kinetic conformational states [2^9].In the X-ray structure of bovine F 1 , di¡erent sectors of the asymmetric subunit Q are in contact with the three subunits L in di¡erent conformations [16]. The relative position of the occupancies E (empty), TP (triphosphate binding) and DP (diphosphate binding) of the three L subunits is counter-clockwise, when viewed from above. Therefore, if the interactions with subunit Q determine the conformation and occupancy of the three di¡erent subunits L, the direction of rotation of subunit Q driven by ATP hydrolysis could have been deduced to be clockwise relative to the ¢xed catalytic sites, viewed from above. Accordingly, in videograms of ATP hydrolysisdriven movements of devices ¢xed to subunit Q the direction of rotation is clockwise, viewed from above, because it is counter-clockwise, when viewed from the membrane side [14,15,19].Mainly from exchange rates in pulse/chase experiments, on the other hand, three conformational states have been de¢ned, Open with low, Loose with medium and Tight with high a⁄nity to nucleotides, and the 'energy-linked binding change mechanism' has been formulated [2^7]. In the assignment [16] of the occupancies to these conformational states, E corresponds to O, TP to L and DP to T. This assignment suggests that the sequence of conformational changes during ATP hydrolysis is O-L-T-O. From kinetic analyses this O-L-T-O sequence has been deduced for ATP synthesis [2^10,20], however.The assumption that in the videograms Q turns arti¢cially in the wrong way would lead in reality to the sequence O-T-L-O in ATP hydrolysis, in agreement with the deduced sequence of the three kinetic conformational states; but this consideration would also require the interchange of the occupancies L DP and L TP in the X-ray structures. Interchanging the assignment [21] or introducing the additional conformation 'closed' into the static three-sector cartoons [10] does not solve the problem either. The 'direction of rotation discrepancy ' [22] is represented in this article as two three-step cartoons (Fig. 1a,b), showing the course of events in one catalytic site correlated to the three conformational a⁄nities. The data and conclusions rep...