The B subunits are part of the peripheral stalk that links the F1 and FO complexes together, and which acts as a stator to prevent certain subunits from rotating with the central rotary element. The peripheral stalk differs in subunit composition between mitochondrial, chloroplast and bacterial F-ATPases. In bacterial and chloroplast F-ATPases, the peripheral stalk is composed of one copy of the delta subunit (homologous to OSCP in mitochondria), and two copies of subunit B in bacteria, or one copy each of subunits B and B' in chloroplasts and photosynthetic bacteria.

Further reading