Sodium cholate at millimolar concentration is able to induce activity in rabbit muscle phosphorylase b in the absence of AMP. The maximum activation of the enzyme in presence of 7 mM sodium cholate was 24 of that achieved by 1 mM AMP. Other bile salts tested showed a negligible activating effect. The K, for AMP was lowered fivefold by 5 m M of the steroid detergent, while the cooperative binding of the nucleotide was abolished Phosphorylase h', a modified form of phosphorylase in which the phosphorylation site has been removed by limited tryptic attack, presented an activation profile similar to that of phosphorylase b. In contrast, phosphorylase u was inhibited by the bile salt, while the activity of liver phosphorylase b was not significantly affected. Modification of the AMP site of the enzyme with 2,3-butanedione could not inhibit sodium-cholate-induced activity. tert-Butanol, an organic solvent activator of phosphorylase h, was found to enhance the activity induced by sodium cholate. The interaction of sodium cholate and phosphorylase h was also followed by difference spectroscopy using a fluorescein isothiocyanate -phosphorylase b conjugate. Furthermore, measurements of electron spin resonance demonstrated that the mobility of a spin-label bound at buried -NH, groups of phosphorylase h decreases cooperatively with increasing bile salt concentration.