Treatment of Ca2(+)-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum with V8 protease from Staphylococcus aureus produced appreciable amounts of a Ca2(+)-ATPase fragment (p85) in the presence of Ca2+ (E1 conformation of the enzyme), along with many other peptide fragments that were also formed in the presence of [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (E2 conformation). p85 was formed as a carboxyl-terminal cleavage product of Ca2(+)-ATPase by a split of the peptide bond between Glu-231 and Ile-232. Other conformation-dependent V8 splits were localized to the "hinge" region, involved in ATP binding, between the middle and COOH-terminal one-third of the Ca2(+)-ATPase polypeptide chain. Representative split products in this region (p48,p31) were identified as NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal cleavage products of p85. In the membrane p85 probably remains associated with its complementary NH2-terminal fragment(s) and retains the capacity to bind Ca2+ as evidenced by resistance to V8 degradation in Ca2+ and ability to become phosphorylated by ATP. However, the hydrolysis rate of the phosphorylated enzyme is reduced, indicating that peptide cleavage at Glu-231 interferes with Ca2+ transport steps after phosphorylation. Binding of Ca2+ to V8 and tryptic fragments of Ca2(+)-ATPase was studied on the basis of Ca2(+)-induced changes in electrophoretic mobility and 45Ca2+ autoradiography after transfer of peptides to Immobilon membranes. These data indicate binding by the NH2-terminal 1-198 amino acid residues (corresponding to the tryptic A2 fragment) and the COOH-terminal 715-1001 amino acid residues (corresponding to p31). By contrast the central portion of Ca2(+)-ATPase, including the NH2-terminal portion of p85, is devoid of Ca2+ binding. These results question an earlier proposition that Ca2(+)-binding is located to the "stalk" region of Ca2(+)-ATPase (Brandl, C. J., Green, N. M., Korczak, B., and MacLennan, D. H.) (1986) Cell 44, 597-607) but are in agreement with recent data obtained by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of Ca2(+)-ATPase (Clarke, D. M., Loo, T. W., Inesi, G., and MacLennan, D. H. (1989) Nature 339, 476-478). These different studies suggest that Ca2+ translocation sites may have an intramembranous location and are formed predominantly by the carboxyl-terminal part of the Ca2(+)-ATPase polypeptide chain.