A novel gene was cloned from Plasmodium falciparum. Database searches indicated this gene to be a member of the 20S proteasome P-subunit family. Comparison of the gene's genomic DNA sequence with cDNA sequence revealed a I56-bp intron 85 bp downstream from the start codon. The nucleotide sequence of the gene contains one open reading frame encoding 265 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 30.9 kDa and a pI of 6.2. Northern blot analysis showed the transcript size to be approximately 1.6 kb indicating that some 800 bp of the transcript is non-coding. (C) 2000 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.