Cysteine proteases play critical biological roles in both intracellular and extracellular
processes. We characterizedCe-cpl-1, a Caenorhabditis elegans cathepsin L-like cysteine
protease. RNA interference with Ce-cpl-1activity resulted in embryonic lethality and a
transient delayed growth of larvae to egg producing adults, suggesting an essential role
forcpl-1 during embryogenesis, and most likely during post-embryonic development. Cpl-1
gene (Ce-cpl-1: lacZ) is widely expressed in the intestine and hypodermal cells of transgenic …