Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOdehase, EC 1.3.3.1) catalyses the fourth enzymatic step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. A truncated human cDNA encoding this enzyme was isolated from a HeLa cell cDNA library by functional complementation of a corresponding deletion mutant from the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The complementing clone contained a 1.5-kb poly(A)(+)-tailed insert with a 1191-bp open reading frame, hybridising with a unique human mRNA of 1.6 kb. The deduced amino acid sequence has 54%, 46% and 42% identity with Arabidopsis thaliana, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Escherichia coli DHOdehases, respectively. In contrast, it has only 21% identity with the S. cerevisiae enzyme, which probably reflects the cytosolic location of the enzyme in the latter organism.