We have cloned, by functional complementation of the cdc2.5-2 mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a homolog of CDC2.5 from the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. The new gene, named CSC2.5, codes for a 1333-amino-acid protein. The full length gene, as well as a truncated form coding for 795 amino acids, suppresses the thermosensitive phenotype of cdc25" mutants. Biochemical analysis has shown that Csc25 activates the Ras/adenylyl cyclase pathway in S. cerevisiae at a rate two to three times faster than Cdc25, under the same conditions. The C-terminal domain of Csc25 is highly similar to the C-terminal domain of Cdc25, to almost the same extent as the Cterminus of the endogenous Cdc25 homolog Sdc25. We show that polyclonal anti-Cdc25 antibodies interact with Csc25 expressed in S. cerevisiae. In addition to the full length protein (= 150 m a ) , we have found a = 50-kDa polypeptide which seems to include the C-terminus of the CSC25 gene product.Ras proteins belong to a family of evolutionarily conserved, membrane-associated proteins, which function as molecular switches in the transmission of growth and differentiation signals across the plasma membrane [l, 21. The Ras proteins oscillate between an active GTP-bound state and an inactive GDP-bound state. This interconversion is regulated by two other types of proteins : the little characterized guanyl nucleotide releasing protein (GNRP) [3 -51 and the GTPase activating protein (GAP) [6]. GNRP catalyses the exchange of the bound GDP for GTP, thus bringing about the activation of Ras. GAP accelerates the otherwise extremely slow intrinsic GTPase activity of Ras leading to termination of Ras activity (reviewed in [7]). Mutated versions of ras protooncogenes appear in 30% of all human cancers and in more than 90% of certain cancers [2]. These mutations greatly attenuate the intrinsic GTPase activity and the susceptibility of Ras to GAP and cause the protein to spend more time in its GTP-bound active state. In addition to GAP, the neurofibromatosis type 1 protein (NF-1) was also found to possess a GAP-like domain and a GAP activity and is therefore believed to be a regulator of Ras, at least in certain cells [8-101. It is still unknown how signals originating at the plasma membrane by cell surface receptors are transmitted to Ras [ l l , 121, although, in one case, inhibition of GAP activity was shown to be associated with the activation of the T cell receptor [ll]. The identity of the downstream effector of Ras is also unknown but GAP with its associated proteins is a candidate for this effector role [13].In one organism, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, understanding of the biochemical pathway mediated by Ras proteins has reached a considerable degree of clarity (reviewed in [14, 151). S. cerevisiae has two RAS genes, RASl and RAS2, encoding proteins which possess strong similarity to the mammalian Ras proteins [16]. They were found to activate the enzyme adenylyl cyclase (Cdc35Kyrl) which regulates cell cycle progression in response to extracellular signals [17]...