Site-specific mutagenesis of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase was used to investigate the functional role of Lys684 located in the "hinge-domain", a highly conserved region of the cation-transporting ATPases. Mutation of Lys684 to Arg, Ala, His and Gln resulted in complete loss of calcium transport function and ATPase activity. For the Lys684- > Ala, His, Gln mutants, this coincided with a loss of the ability to form a phosphorylated intermediate from ATP or Pi, whereas the Lys684- > Arg mutant retained the ability to phosphorylate from ATP with normal apparent affinity, demonstrating the importance of the positive charge. On the other hand, no phosphorylation was observed with Pi as substrate in this mutant. Examination of the partial reactions following phosphorylation from ATP in the Lys684- > Arg mutant demonstrated a reduction of the rate of transformation of the ADP-sensitive phosphoenzyme intermediate (E1P) to the ADP-insensitive phosphoenzyme intermediate (E2P), which could account for the loss of transport function. Once accumulated, the E2P intermediate was able to decompose rapidly in the presence of K+ at neutral pH. In the Lys684- > Ala mutant, nucleotides were found to protect with normal affinity against intramolecular cross-linking induced with glutaraldehyde, indicating that the nucleotide binding site was intact. These data point to a role of Lys684 in the binding and transfer of phosphate to the protein, and in the transport-associated conformational changes of the phosphorylation site.