The tef1 gene coding for translation elongation factor EF1α was identified by a PCR-based approach using degenerate oligonucleotides derived from conserved regions seen in alignments of other EF1αs. The deduced amino acid sequence was compared to other EF1αs. In Southern blot analyses no evidence for a second gene encoding EF1α in Schizophyllum commune was detected. Abundant transcript levels were detected in Northern blot analyses. The open reading frame is interrupted by seven small introns ; however, the positions of these introns are not conserved between the homobasidiomycete Schizophyllum commune and the heterobasidiomycete Puccinia graminis genes.