A protein identified as P859'9-°was shown to be phosphorylated when immunoprecipitates from tsllO Moloney murine sarcoma virus transformed nonproducer cells (clone 6m2) were incubated with [y-32P]ATP. The in vitro-labeled 85,000-dalton phosphoprotein comigrated on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels with authentic phosphorylated P859'9-°. Immunoprecipitates obtained with antisera prepared against Rauscher murine leukemia virus core protein p30 were active in the immune complex kinase assay but anti-murine leukemia virus plO precipitates were not. Previous studies have shown that anti-p30 but not antiplO antisera recognize P859'9-°. The 6m2 clone has been shown to express P85gag-"w8 at 330C but not at 39TC. Anti-p30 immune complexes from 6m2 cells maintained at 390C failed to phosphorylate the 85,000-dalton protein. Furthermore, the in vitro phosphorylated 85,000-dalton protein gave the same pattern of V8 protease-generated cleavage products as in vivo 32P-labeled P85gag-'.8, We conclude from these results that P85gag`m06 is phosphorylated in anti-p30 immune complex kinase reactions. Phosphoamino acid analyses indicated that the in vitro phosphorylated P85gag-tno contained phosphoserine and phosphothreonine. Our findings indicate that incubation of anti-p30 immunoprecipitates at 39°C drastically reduced, in a specific way, the kinase activity associated with P85gag-1l8. This result and other data suggest that the kinase is virus-encoded. Because P85gag-"1w8, but not Pr65gag, is phosphorylated in anti-p30 immunoprecipitates from MuLVMuSV tsllO producer cells, the kinase enzyme is associated with P85gag-' and not gag gene products. A second major polypeptide of the size of P58gag was also phosphorylated in anti-p30 immunoprecipitates from cells maintained at 33°C but not at 39°C. Since 6m2 cells at 39°C contain P58wag, this is also consistent with the kinase activity being associated with P85gag-11W.