The primary structure of a 9-kDa basic protein from rice seeds was determined by gas-phase sequencing of the intact protein and peptides derived from it by digestion with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and endopeptidase Lys-K. The protein consists of a single polypeptide chain of 91 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 8909 Da. It is rich in alanine, serine, glycine, and cysteine. The eight cysteines form four disulfide bonds. There is no methionine, histidine, phenylalanine, or tryptophan. The sequence is highly homologous with an alpha-amylase inhibitor, I-2, from seeds of Indian finger millet [F. A. P. Campos and M. Richardson (1984) FEBS Lett. 167, 221-225] and a 10-kDa barley seed protein, also called a probable amylase/protease inhibitor [B. Svensson et al. (1986) Carlsberg Res. Commun. 51, 493-500; J. Mundy and J. C. Rogers (1986) Planta 169, 51-63]. In analogy with the barley protein, the purified protein is tentatively called a rice probable amylase/protease inhibitor (PAPI). The rice PAPI does not show inhibitory activities against proteases and amylases tested. The amino acid sequence is as follows: Ile-Thr-Cys-Gly-Gln-Val-Asn-Ser-Ala-Val(10)-Gly-Pro-Cys-Leu-Thr-Tyr- Ala-Arg-Gly-Gly(20)-Ala-Gly-Pro-Ser-Ala-Ala-Cys-Cys-Ser-Gly(30)-Val-Arg- Ser-Leu-Lys-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ser-Thr(40)-Thr-Ala-Asp-Arg-Arg-Thr-Ala-Cys- Asn-Cys(50)-Leu-Lys-Asn-Ala-Ala-Arg-Gly-Ile-Lys-Gly(60)-Leu-Asn-Ala-Gly- Asn-Ala-Ala-Ser-Ile-Pro(70)-Ser-Lys-Cys-Gly-Val-Ser-Val-Pro-Tyr-Thr(80)- Ile-Ser-Ala-Ser-Ile-Asp-Cys-Ser-Arg-Val-Ser(91).