THE YGR194C (XKS1) GENE ENCODES THE XYLULOKINASE FROM THE BUDDING YEAST SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE

We report the finding of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene necessary for growth ill culture media with D-xylulose as the sole carbon source. T his gene corresponds to the YGR194c open reading frame that we have pr eviously described, and it is renamed now XKS1. Data bank comparisons of the protein encoded by the XKS1 gene showed significant homology wi th different xylulokinases, indicating a possible role in xylulose pho sphorylation. The wild-type gene in a centromeric plasmid complemented defective growth of xks1 S. cerevisiae mutant strains in xylulose. By contrast, overexpression negatively influenced cell growth in this ca rbon source. (C) 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies . Published by Elsevier Science B.V.