Phytophthora capsici inflicts damage on numerous crop plants by secreting a series of pectinase including pectate lyase (PEL). Here, we report a pectate lyase gene (Pcpel1) from a genomic library of a highly virulent P.capsici strain SD33. Pcpel1 was identified as an open reading frame of 1233bp encoding a protein of 410 amino acids with a predicted amino-terminal signal sequence of 21 amino acids. The predicted protein of Pcpel1 has a calculated molecular mass of 43.8kDa and a pI value of 6.8. Analysis of the amino acid sequence suggested that it was a member of the polysaccharide lyase family 1 that shows pectate lyase activity. Moreover, heterologous expression of Pcpel1 in Pichia pastoris produced proteins with molecular mass 66kDa, very likely due to differential glycosylation by the yeast. By western blotting and northern blotting analysis, Pcpel1 was strongly expressed during interaction of P.capsici with the host plant, suggesting its involvement in the process of host infection. The role of Pcpel1 in cell wall disassembly and host/parasite interaction is discussed.