{"gene":"TG_202500","gene_symbol":"GAPM1A","run_date":"2026-09-07T12:57:47+00:00","timeline":{"discoveries":[{"year":2019,"finding":"GAPM1a, an integral membrane protein of the alveoli, is required for cortical microtubule stability; auxin-inducible degradation of GAPM1a causes cortical microtubule disorganization and subsequent depolymerization, leading to parasites becoming shorter and rounder with decreased cellular volume, and extended depletion causes severe defects in division.","method":"Auxin-inducible degron (AID) system for conditional protein degradation, morphological imaging, cell volume measurement (suspended microchannel resonator)","journal":"Nature Communications","confidence":"Medium","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Moderate — clean conditional KO with defined cytoskeletal and morphological phenotypes, single lab, multiple orthogonal readouts (microtubule imaging, cell volume, division assay)","pmids":["30674885"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Toxoplasma gondii","strain":""}]}],"current_model":"GAPM1a is an integral alveolar membrane protein in Toxoplasma gondii that anchors and stabilizes cortical microtubules to the alveoli, maintaining parasite shape, rigidity, and normal cell division; its loss causes microtubule disorganization and depolymerization, cell rounding, volume decrease, and division failure."},"narrative":{"mechanistic_narrative":"GAPM1a is an integral membrane protein of the alveoli in Toxoplasma gondii that anchors and stabilizes the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton, thereby maintaining parasite shape, rigidity, and normal cell division [PMID:30674885]. Conditional degradation of GAPM1a via the auxin-inducible degron system causes disorganization and subsequent depolymerization of cortical microtubules, rendering parasites shorter and rounder with decreased cellular volume, while extended depletion produces severe division defects [PMID:30674885]. Beyond this single conditional-knockdown characterization [PMID:30674885], no further mechanistic detail — including direct binding partners, the molecular basis of microtubule anchoring, or structural information — has been characterized in the available corpus.","teleology":[{"year":2019,"claim":"It was unknown what tethers and stabilizes the cortical microtubule array against the alveolar membrane in Toxoplasma; conditional degradation of GAPM1a showed it is required for cortical microtubule stability and parasite morphology, establishing it as an alveolar membrane anchor for the subpellicular cytoskeleton.","evidence":"Auxin-inducible degron conditional degradation with morphological imaging, microtubule visualization, cell volume measurement, and division assays in Toxoplasma gondii","pmids":["30674885"],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["No direct binding partner or interaction interface with microtubules or alveolar components identified","The molecular mechanism by which GAPM1a stabilizes versus organizes microtubules is not resolved","No structural model of the integral membrane protein","Single lab, single strain; not independently replicated"],"attribution":[{"species":"Toxoplasma gondii","strain":""}]},{"year":null,"claim":"How GAPM1a physically links the alveolar membrane to cortical microtubules at the molecular level, and what its direct binding partners are, remains unknown.","evidence":"","pmids":[],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["No identified direct protein or lipid partners","No reconstitution of the anchoring activity","No structural characterization"],"attribution":[{"species":"Toxoplasma gondii","strain":""}]}],"mechanism_profile":{"molecular_activity":[],"localization":[],"pathway":[],"complexes":[],"partners":[],"other_free_text":["Depletion causes cortical microtubule disorganization and depolymerization, cell rounding, and decreased cellular volume [#0]","Extended depletion produces severe cell division defects [#0]"]},"strain_conflicts":[]},"prefetch_data":{},"corpus_meta":[{"pmid":"30674885","id":"PMC_30674885","title":"Alveolar proteins stabilize cortical microtubules in Toxoplasma gondii.","date":"2019","source":"Nature communications","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30674885","citation_count":47,"is_preprint":false}],"cost":{"stage1":{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-6","input_tokens":2822,"output_tokens":379,"usd":0.007076,"stage1_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"stage2":{"model":"claude-opus-4-8","input_tokens":4985,"output_tokens":1173,"usd":0.027125,"stage2_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"total_usd":0.0,"stage1_batch_id":"msgbatch_01WgHz6kceqm573AGLyz57at","stage2_batch_id":"msgbatch_01LK4wDYj5zYquahv7gi9893","note":"batch pricing = 50% of standard","skipped":true},"stage1_raw":"```json\n{\n  \"discoveries\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2019,\n      \"finding\": \"GAPM1a, an integral membrane protein of the alveoli, is required for cortical microtubule stability; auxin-inducible degradation of GAPM1a causes cortical microtubule disorganization and subsequent depolymerization, leading to parasites becoming shorter and rounder with decreased cellular volume, and extended depletion causes severe defects in division.\",\n      \"method\": \"Auxin-inducible degron (AID) system for conditional protein degradation, morphological imaging, cell volume measurement (suspended microchannel resonator)\",\n      \"journal\": \"Nature Communications\",\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Moderate — clean conditional KO with defined cytoskeletal and morphological phenotypes, single lab, multiple orthogonal readouts (microtubule imaging, cell volume, division assay)\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"30674885\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Toxoplasma gondii\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"current_model\": \"GAPM1a is an integral alveolar membrane protein in Toxoplasma gondii that anchors and stabilizes cortical microtubules to the alveoli, maintaining parasite shape, rigidity, and normal cell division; its loss causes microtubule disorganization and depolymerization, cell rounding, volume decrease, and division failure.\"\n}\n```","stage2_raw":"```json\n{\n  \"mechanistic_narrative\": \"GAPM1a is an integral membrane protein of the alveoli in Toxoplasma gondii that anchors and stabilizes the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton, thereby maintaining parasite shape, rigidity, and normal cell division [#0]. Conditional degradation of GAPM1a via the auxin-inducible degron system causes disorganization and subsequent depolymerization of cortical microtubules, rendering parasites shorter and rounder with decreased cellular volume, while extended depletion produces severe division defects [#0]. Beyond this single conditional-knockdown characterization [#0], no further mechanistic detail — including direct binding partners, the molecular basis of microtubule anchoring, or structural information — has been characterized in the available corpus.\",\n  \"teleology\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2019,\n      \"claim\": \"It was unknown what tethers and stabilizes the cortical microtubule array against the alveolar membrane in Toxoplasma; conditional degradation of GAPM1a showed it is required for cortical microtubule stability and parasite morphology, establishing it as an alveolar membrane anchor for the subpellicular cytoskeleton.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Auxin-inducible degron conditional degradation with morphological imaging, microtubule visualization, cell volume measurement, and division assays in Toxoplasma gondii\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"30674885\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\n        \"No direct binding partner or interaction interface with microtubules or alveolar components identified\",\n        \"The molecular mechanism by which GAPM1a stabilizes versus organizes microtubules is not resolved\",\n        \"No structural model of the integral membrane protein\",\n        \"Single lab, single strain; not independently replicated\"\n      ],\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Toxoplasma gondii\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": null,\n      \"claim\": \"How GAPM1a physically links the alveolar membrane to cortical microtubules at the molecular level, and what its direct binding partners are, remains unknown.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"\",\n      \"pmids\": [],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\n        \"No identified direct protein or lipid partners\",\n        \"No reconstitution of the anchoring activity\",\n        \"No structural characterization\"\n      ],\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Toxoplasma gondii\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"mechanism_profile\": {\n    \"molecular_activity\": [],\n    \"localization\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"alveolar membrane (integral membrane protein)\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0], \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Toxoplasma gondii\", \"strain\": \"\"}]}\n    ],\n    \"pathway\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"cortical microtubule stabilization / maintenance of cell shape and division\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0], \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Toxoplasma gondii\", \"strain\": \"\"}]}\n    ],\n    \"complexes\": [],\n    \"partners\": [],\n    \"other_free_text\": [\n      \"Depletion causes cortical microtubule disorganization and depolymerization, cell rounding, and decreased cellular volume [#0]\",\n      \"Extended depletion produces severe cell division defects [#0]\"\n    ]\n  },\n  \"strain_conflicts\": []\n}\n```","audit_flag":null,"strains":[{"strain":"ME49","gene_id":"TGME49_202500","name":"GAPM1A","product":"glideosome-associated protein with multiple-membrane spans GAPM1A","uniprot_acc":"A0A125YZ77","chromosome":"TGME49_chrVIIa","start_pos":3273584},{"strain":"GT1","gene_id":"TGGT1_202500","name":null,"product":"GAPM1a","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":"TGGT1_chrVIIa","start_pos":3172046},{"strain":"RH88","gene_id":"TGRH88_036510","name":null,"product":"GAPM1a","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":"CM023088","start_pos":3366958},{"strain":"VEG","gene_id":"TGVEG_202500","name":null,"product":"GAPM1a","uniprot_acc":"B9PUL4","chromosome":"TGVEG_chrVIIa","start_pos":3361318}]}