The effects of various modifications of rabbit skeletal myosin subfragment 1 on thermal denaturation of subfragment 1 in ternary complexes with Mg-ADP and orthovanadate (V-i) or beryllium fluoride (BeFx) have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. It has been shown that specific modifications of SH1 group of Cys-707 by different sulfhydryl reagents, trinitrophenylation of Lys-83, and reductive methylation of lysine residues promote the decomposition of the S1 . ADP . V-i complex and change the character of structural transitions of the subfragment 1 molecule induced by the formation of this complex, but they have much less or no influence on subfragment 1 thermal stability in the S1 . ADP . BeFx complex. Thus, the differential scanning calorimetric studies on modified subfragment 1 preparations reveal a significant difference between S1 . ADP . V-i and S1 . ADP . BeFx complexes. It is suggested that S1 . ADP . V-i and S1 . ADP . BeFx complexes represent structural analogues of different transition states of the ATPase cycle, namely the intermediate states S1**. ADP . P-i and S1*. ATP, respectively. It is also proposed that during formation of the SI ADP VI complex the region containing both Cys-707 and Lys-83 plays an important role in the spread of conformational changes from the active site of subfragment 1 ATPase throughout the structure of the entire subfragment 1 molecule. In such a case, the effects of reductive methylation of lysine residues on the subfragment 1 structure in the S1 . ADP . V-i complex are related to the modification of Lys-83.