A composite 2779-bp cDNA that encodes human cytoplasmic methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) has been constructed from partial cDNA clones derived from the gastric carcinoma cell line EPG85-257RNOV and the nucleotide sequence has been determined. The open reading frame (ORF) encodes a 900 amino acid (aa) protein with a predicted molecular mass of 101 kDa. Northern blotting analysis of total RNA extracted from human gastric carcinoma cells demonstrated a single band with a mobility corresponding to a size of 3.0 kb.