A gene, analogous to the RAD4 gene, which is required for nucleotide excision repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also exists in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. RNA isolated from wild type S. pombe cells strongly cross-hybridized with the 1.2 kb PvuII DNA fragment of the S. cerevisiae RAD4 genomic clone (pPC1). Chromosomal DNA isolated from S. pombe had similar restriction patterns to those from S. cerevisiae, as determined by Southern blot analysis. Two species of mRNA, 3.1 and 1.8 kb, were identified by Northern hybridization. The level of these transcripts did not increase upon UV-irradiation, suggesting that the RAD4-like gene in S. pombe is not UV-inducible.