We cloned cDNAs encoding two peroxins, PEX-1 and PEX-6, of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Peroxins are proteins that play essential roles in peroxisome biogenesis and are encoded by pex genes. Among the peroxins, PEX-1 and PEX-6 constitute the subfamily 2 of AAA (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities) proteins. Each cDNA agreed well with the respective mRNA in size (3.4 kb for
pex-1 and 2.3 kb for
pex-6) and did not carry any spliced leader sequence. The
pex-1 cDNA was composed of 24 exons, which were encoded by a genomic region containing three open reading frames (ORFs),
c11h1.4,
c11h1.5, and
c11h1.6; the predicted ORF
c11h1.5 was encompassed in the 15th intron. Although many exon-intron borders in
pex-1 were inconsistent with those predicted for
c11h1.4 and
c11h1.6, those in
pex-6 coincided with those for the ORF
f39g3.7. The
pex-1 and
pex-6 genes encoded proteins with 996 and 720 amino acid residues, respectively. Both
pex-1 mRNA and
pex-6 mRNA were detectable mainly in intestinal cells throughout the life cycle of C. elegans.