In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the NDI1 gene encodes a mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase, the catalytic side of which projects to the matrix side of the inner mitochondrial membrane. In addition to this NADH dehydrogenase, S. cerevisiae exhibits another mitochondrial NADH-dehydrogenase activity, which oxidizes NADH at the cytosolic side of the inner membrane. To investigate whether open reading frames YMR145c/NDE1 and YDL 085w/NDE2, which exhibit sequence similarity with NDI1, encode the latter enzyme, NADH-dependent mitochondrial respiration was assayed in wild-type S. cerevisiae and nde deletion mutants. Mitochondria were isolated from aerobic, glucose-limited chemostat cultures grown at a dilution rate (D) of 0.10 h ؊1 , in which reoxidation of cytosolic NADH by wild-type cells occurred exclusively by respiration. Compared with the wild type, rates of mitochondrial NADH oxidation were about 3-fold reduced in an nde1⌬ mutant and unaffected in an nde2⌬ mutant. NADH-dependent mitochondrial respiration was completely abolished in an nde1⌬ nde2⌬ double mutant. Mitochondrial respiration of substrates other than NADH was not affected in nde mutants. In shake flasks, an nde1⌬ nde2⌬ mutant exhibited reduced specific growth rates on ethanol and galactose but not on glucose. Glucose metabolism in aerobic, glucose-limited chemostat cultures (D ؍ 0.10 h ؊1 ) of an nde1⌬ nde2⌬ mutant was essentially respiratory. Apparently, under these conditions alternative systems for reoxidation of cytosolic NADH could replace the role of Nde1p and Nde2p in S. cerevisiae.