STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONSERVATION OF THE CAENORHABDITIS-ELEGANS TIMING GENE CLK-1

Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans gene clk-1 affect biological t iming and extend longevity. The gene clk-1 was identified, and the clo ned gene complemented the clk-1 phenotypes and restored normal longevi ty. The CLK-1 protein was found to be conserved among eukaryotes, incl uding humans, and structurally similar to the yeast metabolic regulato r Cat5p (also called Coq7p). These proteins contain a tandem duplicati on of a core 82-residue domain. clk-1 complemented the phenotype of ca t5/coq7 null mutants, demonstrating that clk-1 and CAT5/COQ7 share bio chemical function and that clk-1 acts at the level of cellular physiol ogy.