We have cloned and sequenced the GDS1 gene located on the right arm of chromosome XV of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The gene codes for a 522 amino acid serine-rich protein with no obvious homology to proteins in the database. GDS1 gene was isolated as the multicopy suppressor of the glycerol-deficient phenotype caused by the nam9-1 mutation in the yeast nuclear gene encoding the mitochondrial ribosomal protein homologous to S4 proteins from various organisms. Disruption-deletion of the GDS1 open reading frame leads to a partial impairment of growth on medium containing glycerol as the carbon source, indicating mitochondrial function of the gene product.