The gene for human glycerol kinase deficiency (GK) maps in Xp21.3 in a critical region of about 50-250 kb located distal to the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene (DMD) by analysis of patient deletions and YAC contigs. We have used a genomic exon amplification strategy to isolate potential exons from two cosmids which mapped to this interval. The genomic exons were used to isolate six overlapping cDNA clones from human fetal liver which encode the X-linked glycerol kinase gene. The cDNA clones map to cosmids, YAC clones and deletions in patients which define the GK critical region and also hybridize to several autosomal fragments and one Xq fragment in genomic DNA. The GK gene is expressed most in human liver with three transcript sizes of 1.85, 2.7, and 3.7 kb. Sequence analysis of 1.5 kb of several overlapping liver cDNA clones predicted a protein with approximately 63% similarity to the E. coli and B. subtilis glycerol kinase genes. The liver cDNA clones have sequence identity with four genomic exons and the 3' untranslated region from an Xp21.3 cosmid thus indicating that this is the expressed GK gene which when deleted in patients gives rises to GK deficiency.