INCREASED LONGEVITY OF EF-1-ALPHA HIGH-FIDELITY MUTANTS IN PODOSPORA-ANSERINA

Various translation initiation and elongation factors seem to participate in the control of the cellular proliferation and the ageing process in higher eukaryotes. Studies indicate that EF-1α, one of the translation elongation factors, may be one of the major components involved. We here present the cloning of the filamentous fungus P. anserina EF-1α encoding gene and show that strains bearing high fidelity mutations in the EF-1α gene have a drastically increased longevity as well as an impairment in sporulation. This suggests that EF-1α is involved in the sexual and senescence processes in lower eukaryotes, through the control of translational errors. © 1994 Academic Press Limited.