The CBP2 gene from Saccharomyces douglasii is a functional homologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene and is essential for respiratory growth in the presence of a wildtype (intron containing) mitochondrial genome

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the only known role of the CBP2 gene is the excision of the fifth intron of the mitochondrial cyt b gene (bI5). We have cloned the CBP2 gene from Saccharomyces douglasii (a close relative of S. cerevisiae). A comparison of the S. douglasii and S. cerevisiae sequences shows that there are 14% nucleotide substitutions in the coding region, with transitions being three times more frequent than transversions. At the protein level sequence identity is 87%. We have demonstrated that the S. douglasii CBP2 gene is essential for respiratory growth in the presence of a wild-type S. douglasii mitochondrial genome, but not in the presence of an intronless S. cerevisiae mitochondrial genome. Also the S. douglasii and S. cerevisiae CBP2 genes are completely interchangeable, even though the intron bI5 is absent from the S. douglasii mitochondrial genome.