A series of phosphorylated test peptides was studied by electron capture dissociation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ECD FT-ICR MS). The extensive ECD-induced fragmentation made identification of phosphorylation sites for these peptides straightforward. The site(s) of initial phosphorylation of a synthetic peptide with a sequence identical to that of the phosphorylation site domain (PSD) of the myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase (MARCKS) protein was then determined. Despite success in analyzing fragmentation of the smaller test peptides, a unique site on the PSD for the first step of phosphorylation could not be identified because the phosphorylation reaction produced a heterogeneous mixture of products. Some molecules were phosphorylated on the serine closest to the N-terminus, and others on one of the two serines closest to the C-terminus of the peptide. Although no definitive evidence for phosphorylation on either of the remaining two serines in the PSD was found, modification there could not be ruled out by the ECD fragmentation data. . This protein also binds calmodulin [7], acidic membrane phospholipids [8 -10], and actin filaments [11]. These interactions are believed to be regulated by protein phosphorylation [3,4,12,13]. The MARCKS protein is also a major substrate for protein kinase C (PKC) [14]. Protein kinase C-related kinase (PRK1) and -associated kinase also phosphorylate the phosphorylation site domain (PSD) [15,16]. PKC contains two regions: the N-terminal regulatory region and the C-terminal catalytic region. This kinase phosphorylates serine and threonine residues in basic peptide and protein sequences. Thus, PKC phosphorylates a small segment of the MARCKS protein, displacing the protein from membranes. The phosphorylation of the MARCKS protein then inhibits cross-linking activity of filamentous (F) actin, calcium-calmodulin binding, and binding to the plasma membrane [3,7,9,11,[17][18][19].The MARCKS protein contains three highly conserved regions: the phosphorylation site domain (PSD), the myristoylated amino-terminal domain, and the MARCKS homology domain. The PSD region, also known as the effector domain (ED), is the most studied, and is a basic peptide comprised of 25 amino acid residues. This region is believed to be central to the activity of the MARCKS protein.