Patent ID: 8058502

Claim:
A method of identifying a modulator of longevity, the method comprising: providing a C. elegans animal; administering a test compound to the C. elegans animal; and monitoring expression or activity of a C. elegans wwp-1 E3 ubiquitin ligase or a homolog thereof, expression or activity of a C. elegans ubc-18 E2 ubiquitin conjugation enzyme or a homolog thereof, and/or post-translational modification state of a C. elegans wwp-1 E3 ubiquitin ligase or a homolog thereof or a substrate thereof in the animal, wherein an increase in expression or activity of the C. elegans wwp-1 or the homolog thereof, an increase in expression or activity of the C. elegans ubc-18 or the homolog thereof, increased phosphorylation of the C. elegans wwp-1 or the homolog thereof, and/or increased ubiquitination of the substrate indicates that the test compound modulates longevity.