We report the finding of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene necessary for growth in culture media with D-xylulose as the sole carbon source. This gene corresponds to the YGR194c open reading frame that we have previously described, and it is renamed now XKS1. Data bank comparisons of the protein encoded by the XKS1 gene showed significant homology with different xylulokinases, indicating a possible role in xylulose phosphorylation. The wild-type gene in a centromeric plasmid complemented defective growth of xks1 S. cerevisiae mutant strains in xylulose. By contrast, overexpression negatively influenced cell growth in this carbon source.