The composition and patterns of metabolism of phospholipids isolated as part of a lipid-depleted membrane fragment (LDM fragment) and associated with the membrane adenosine triphosphatase complex have been compared with those of the bulk membrane phospholipid. The bulk lipid was extracted from washed membranes with sodium cholate. The LDM fragments, which contained a portion of the electron transport system and the membrane adenosine triphosphatase complex, were purified by chromatography with Sepharose 6B. The LDM fragment preparations contained 0.10 +/- 0.02 mumol of lipid phosphorus per mg of protein, compared with 0.54 +/- 0.05 mumol of lipid phosphorus per mg of protein for washed membranes. The phospholipid associated with the LDM fragments consisted of 78 +/- 4% cardiolipin, 7 +/- 1% phosphatidylglycerol, and 15 +/- 3% phosphatidylethanolamine. Changes in the total membrane lipid composition (produced by culture conditions) did not alter the phospholipid composition of the LDM fragments. The adenosine triphosphate complex was separated from the other components of the LDM fragments by suspension of the fragments in 1% Triton X-100 and precipitation with antibody specific for the F(1) component of the adenosine triphosphatase complex. The phospholipid isolated with the adenosine triphosphatase complex consisted of 86% cardiolipin, 8% phosphatidylglycerol, and 6% phosphatidylethanolamine. In pulse-chase experiments with (32)P and [2-(3)H]glycerol, the labeling patterns of the phosphatididylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine associated with the LDM fragments were different from those of the bulk membrane phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. It was concluded that at least a portion of the phospholipid isolated with the LDM fragments was part of a native lipid-protein complex.