Component of the TOM (translocase of outer membrane) complex; involved in the recognition and initial import steps for all mitochondrially-directed proteins, acting as a receptor for incoming precursor proteins; moonlighting role as a transcriptional regulator of mitochondrial proteins; age-dependent reduction in Tom70p results in mitochondrial dysfunction, a hallmark of aging; localizes to mitochondria–ER contact sites; TOM70 has a paralog, TOM71, that arose from the whole genome duplication