We have isolated a pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) gene from the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PDC1 gene as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of this gene was determined and compared to PDC genes from yeast and other organisms. The H. uvarum PDC gene is more than 70% identical to the S. cerevisiae PDC isozymes and possesses a putative thiamine diphosphate binding site. The PDC enzyme was purified and partially characterized. The H. uvarum PDC was very similar to other known PDCs; the Km for pyruvate was 0.75 mM, and the enzyme is a homotetramer with subunits of M(r) = 57,000.