Escherichia coli FtsH, which belongs to the ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA) family, is an ATP-dependent and membrane-bound protease. FtsH degrades misassembled membrane proteins and a subset of cytoplasmic regulatory proteins. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the proteolysis, a system for precisely monitoring substrate degradation is required. We have exploited E coli flavodoxin containing non-covalently bound flavin mononucleotide (FMN) as a model substrate for monitoring protein degradation. It was found that FtsH degrades FMN-free apo-flavodoxin but not holo-flavodoxin. However, degradation of a mutant flavodoxin carrying a substitution of Tyr94 to Asp with a lower affinity for FMN could be monitored by fluorimetry. This newly developed monitoring system will also be applicable for proteolysis by other ATP-dependent proteases. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.