The gene, rpb2, encoding the second largest subunit, subunit 2, of RNA polymerase II has been cloned from Schizosaccharomyces pombe using the corresponding gene, RPB2, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a probe for cross-hybridization. We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of rpb2, and parts of the PCR-amplified rpb2 cDNA. The predicted coding sequence of a polypeptide of 1210 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 138 kilodaltons was interrupted by a short intron. The overall amino acid sequence homology of the S. pombe subunit 2 is 68, 62 and 62% with the corresponding protein from S. cerevisiae, D. melanogaster and H. sapiens, respectively. Southern analysis of the genomic DNA digested with various restriction enzymes showed that rpb2 was present as a single copy in the S. pombe genome. Northern analysis showed that the transcript of rpb2 was about 4 kb in length.