Sodium-translocating ATPase in the fermentative bacterium Streptococcus faecalis exchanges sodium for potassium ions. Sodium ions stimulate its activity, but K+ ions have no significant effect at present. Although the molecular nature of the sodium ATPase is not clear, the enzyme is distinct from other ion-motive ATPases (E1E2 type and F1F0 type) as judged by its resistance to vanadate as well as dicyclohexylcarbodiimde. The sodium ATPase is induced when cells are grown on media rich in sodium, particularly under conditions that limit the generation of a proton potential or block the constitutive sodium proton antiporter, indicating that an increase in the cytoplasmic sodium level serves as the signal. The enzyme is not induced in response to K+ deprivation. The sodium ATPase may have evolved to cope with a sodium-rich environment under conditions that limit the magnitude of the proton potential.