A protein complex responsible for the catalysis of the reaction: E1 + ubiquitin + ATP--> E1-ubiquitin + AMP + PPi, where the E1-ubiquitin linkage is a thioester bond between the C-terminal glycine of Ub and a sulfhydryl side group of an E1 cysteine residue. This is the first step in a cascade of reactions in which ubiquitin is ultimately added to a protein substrate. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9545234 ]