Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells secrete extracellularly low amounts of a few proteins. The reasons for retardation of secreted proteins on the cell surface remain obscure. We describe here a mutant able to export enhanced amount of proteins. Classical genetic methods, nucleic acids manipulations and cloning procedures were used to isolate and characterize the mutant and to clone and sequence the corresponding wild type gene. The isolated Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant MW11, is temperature sensitive and exports on average twenty-fold more proteins at 37 degrees C than parental wild type strain (80 micrograms of proteins/1 x 10(8) mutant cells, SEM +/- 5, n22; versus 3 micrograms of proteins/1 x 10(8) parental cells, SEM +/- 1, n22). Protein overexport in the mutant requires a functional SEC1 pathway and is independent of cell lysis. Cloning and sequencing of the corresponding wild type gene identified an open reading frame of 786 bp coding for a hydrophilic protein with predicted molecular mass of 30 kDa and cytosolic localization. The newly identified gene, designated EPE1, is an essential gene. Its DNA and amino acids sequence showed no homology with other yeast genes and proteins. It is concluded that the function of unknown yet genes, such as EPE1 is needed for retention of secreted proteins on the surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.