We have inactivated the nuclear gene coding for a putative NAD(P)H dehydrogenase from the inner membrane of Neurospora crassa mitochondria by repeat-induced point mutations. The respiratory rates of mitochondria from the resulting mutant (nde-1) were measured, using NADH or NADPH as substrates under different assay conditions. The results showed that the mutant lacks an external calcium-dependent NADPH dehydrogenase. The observation of NADH and NADPH oxidation by intact mitochondria from the nde-1 mutant suggests the existence of a second external NAD(P)H dehydrogenase. The topology of the NDE1 protein was further studied by protease accessibility, in vitro import experiments, and in silico analysis of the amino acid sequence. Taken together, it appears that most of the NDE1 protein extends into the intermembrane space in a tightly folded conformation and that it remains anchored to the inner mitochondrial membrane by an Nterminal transmembrane domain.In nonphotosynthetic eukaryotes, the mitochondrion is the cellular organelle responsible for producing most of the energy required for cellular metabolism. The process of oxidative phosphorylation takes place in the inner mitochondrial membrane, whereby the electrons produced by the oxidation of substrates like NAD(P)H are transported through the electron transport chain to oxygen, coupled to the generation of a transmembrane proton gradient that eventually leads to ATP synthesis (1). In contrast to mammals, the electron transport chains of plants and fungi possess several nonproton-pumping NAD(P)H dehydrogenases for transferring electrons to ubiquinone (2). In the case of potato tubers, four rotenone-insensitive NAD(P)H dehydrogenases have been identified in the inner mitochondrial membrane, two with the catalytic site facing the matrix (3, 4) and two facing the intermembrane space (5). In mitochondria from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where the proton-pumping complex I is not present, the oxidation of NADH and NADPH is performed exclusively by three nonproton-pumping enzymes, one facing the matrix and two facing the intermembrane space (6 -8). In addition, the genome analysis of Synechocystis revealed three open reading frames that may code for such type II NAD(P)H dehydrogenases (9). On the other hand, only one external type II NADH dehydrogenase was reported for the fungus Yarrowia lipolytica (10). Although NAD(P)H dehydrogenases have been studied for a long time, our understanding of protein function at the molecular level is still very incomplete. The cloning of genes encoding several of these rotenoneinsensitive NAD(P)H dehydrogenases from mitochondria of different organisms (7, 10 -13) provides important tools for further research in this field. These enzymes might constitute a wasteful system acting to prevent the overreduction of the electron transport components and the production of reactive oxygen species, but their exact roles remain unclear.Both proton-pumping and nonproton-pumping NAD(P)H dehydrogenases have been described in Neurospora crassa mitochon...