Identification of Ecl family genes that extend chronological lifespan in fission yeast.
In fission yeast, we identified two genes, named ecl2+ and ecl3+, that are paralogous to ecl1+, which extends the chronological lifespan. Both ecl2+ and ecl3+ extend the chronological lifespan when overexpressed as ecl1+. ecl2+ and ecl3+ encode 84- and 89-amino acid polypeptides respectively that are not annotated in the current database. The Ecl2 protein is localized mainly in the nucleus, as Ecl1. These results suggest that ecl1+, ecl2+, and ecl3+ have overlapping functions in the regulation of chronological lifespan.
Ohtsuka H, Ogawa Y, Mizuno H, Mita S, Aiba H