The influence of plasma membrane lipid components on the activity of the H+-ATPase has been studied by determining the effect of surfactants on membrane lipids and ATPase activity of oat (Avena sativa L.) root plasma membrane vesicles purified by a two-phase partitioning procedure. Triton X-100, at 25 to 1 (weight/weight) Triton to plasma membrane protein, an amount that causes maximal activation of the ATPase in the ATPase assay, extracted 59% of the membrane protein but did not solubilize the bulk of the ATPase. The Triton-insoluble proteins had associated with them, on a micromole per milligram protein basis, only 14% as much phospholipid, but 38% of the glycolipids and sterols, as compared with the native membranes. The Triton insoluble ATPase could still be activated by Triton X-100. When solubilized by lysolecithin, there were still sterols associated with the ATPase fraction. Free sterols were found associated with the ATPase in the same relative proportions, whether treated with surfactants or not. We suggest that surfactants activate the ATPase by alterng the hydrophobic environment around the enzyme. We propose that sterols, through their interaction with the ATPase, may be essential for ATPase activity.The factors that influence the activity of the PM2 H+-ATPase have attracted considerable attention because of the importance of this enzyme in solute uptake, membrane potential and plant growth mechanisms (35). The ATPase exists in situ in a lipid environment consisting of phospholipids, sterols, and glycolipids (8,9,21,25,31). It has been assumed that a specific phospholipid environment is required for optimal activity. For example, treatment of membranes with surfactants, which should cause partial delipidation, generally reduces ATPase activity, while readdition of phospholipid mixtures partially restores activity (8,11,19,34).