Ca,phospholipid-dependent (PKC) and cAMP-dependent (PKA) protein kinases phosphorylate the alpha-subunit of the Na,K-ATPase from duck salt gland with the incorporation of 0.3 and 0.5 mol P-32/mol of alpha-subunit, respectively. PKA (in contrast to PKC) phosphorylates the alpha-subunit only in the presence of detergents' Limited tryptic digestion of the Na,K-ATPase phosphorylated by PKC demonstrates that P-32 is incorporated into the N-terminal 41-kDa fragment of the alpha-subunit. Selective chymotrypsin cleavage of phosphorylated enzyme yields a 35-kDa radioactive fragment derived from the central region of the alpha-subunit molecule. These findings suggest that PKC phosphorylates the alpha-subunit of the Na,K-ATPase within the region restricted by C3 and T1 cleavage sites.