In previous studies (Xu, A., Hawkins, C., and Narayanan, N. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 8394-8397), the Ca(2+)-ATPase of cardiac muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SERCA2) was shown to be phosphorylated by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase) on a serine residue, likely to be either Ser38, Ser167, or Ser531. SERCA2 and SERCA2 mutants S38A, S167A, and S531A were expressed in HEK-293 cells and tested for phosphorylation with CaM kinase. Mutant S38A was not phosphorylated, while mutants S167A and S531A were phosphorylated, suggesting that Ser38 is the site of CaM kinase phosphorylation in SERCA2. This conclusion was supported by the observation that phosphorylation of SERCA2 and mutants S167A and S531A by CaM kinase increased the Vmax for Ca2+ transport, while the Vmax for Ca2+ transport by mutant S38A was unaffected by exposure to a phosphorylation reaction mix. SERCA1, containing a potential CaM kinase phosphorylation site at Ser167 and two SERCA1 mutants, K35R plus H38S and T532S, in which potential CaM kinase sites were created, were not phosphorylated by CaM kinase, and Vmax for Ca2+ transport was unaffected by exposure to a phosphorylation reaction mix. Thus phosphorylation of Ser38 in SERCA2 results in a unique activation of Vmax for Ca2+ transport, providing a potential regulatory mechanism for Ca2+ removal from cardiac and other tissues in which SERCA2 is expressed.