Fluorescent and non-fluorescent probes have been used to show that divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+) significantly increase hydrophobic exposure on GroEL, whereas monovalent cations (K+ and Na+) have little effect. Zn2+ always induced the largest amount of hydrophobic exposure on GroEL. By using a new method based on interactions of GroEL with octyl-Sepharose, it was demonstrated that Zn2+ binding strengthens GroEL hydrophobic binding interactions and increases the efficiency of substrate release upon the addition of MgATP and GroES. The binding of 4, 4'-bis(1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonic acid) to GroEL in the presence of Zn2+ has a Kd congruent with 1 microM, which is similar to that observed previously for the GroEL 4, 4'-bis(1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonic acid) complex. Urea denaturation, sedimentation velocity ultracentrifugation, and electron microscopy revealed that the quaternary structure of GroEL in the presence of Zn2+ had a stability and morphology equivalent to unliganded GroEL. In contrast, circular dichroism suggested some loss in both alpha-helical and beta-sheet secondary structure in the presence of Zn2+. These data suggest that divalent cations can modulate the amount of hydrophobic surface presented by GroEL. Furthermore, the influence of Zn2+ on GroEL hydrophobic surface exposure as well as substrate binding and release appears to be distinct from the stabilizing effects of Mg2+ on GroEL quaternary structure.