Affinage · Toxoplasma gondii

AMT1

transporter, major facilitator family protein · UniProt S8EZ66

Annotated
2026-09-08
1 papers in source corpus 1 papers cited in narrative 2 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

AMT1 (apicomplexan monocarboxylate transporter 1) is an apicoplast-localized transporter in Toxoplasma gondii required for parasite growth (PMID:38502570). It was identified as an apicoplast protein by TurboID proximity labeling combined with genome engineering, and conditional depletion established that it is critical for parasite proliferation, with metabolite analyses linking its loss to biosynthesis of isoprenoids and fatty acids within the apicoplast (PMID:38502570). Beyond this identification and its functional coupling to apicoplast metabolism, no further mechanistic detail on AMT1's transport substrate specificity or structure has been characterized in the available corpus.

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 2 steps
  1. 2024 Medium

    Whether the apicoplast possesses a dedicated monocarboxylate transporter linked to its biosynthetic output was unknown; AMT1 was identified as an apicoplast transporter essential for growth and coupled to isoprenoid and fatty acid biosynthesis, establishing a metabolic gateway function for the organelle.

    Evidence TurboID proximity labeling, genome engineering, conditional knockdown, and metabolite analyses in Toxoplasma gondii

    PMID:38502570

    Open questions at the time
    • The specific monocarboxylate substrate(s) transported by AMT1 are not directly demonstrated
    • No structural model or reconstituted transport assay
    • Directionality of transport (import vs export) not established
  2. 2024 Low

    The evolutionary origin of the AMT1/AMT2 transporter pair was addressed by phylogenetic analysis, which inferred derivation from a host cell that engulfed a red alga, consistent with an endosymbiotic origin for these apicoplast transporters.

    Evidence Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analysis in Toxoplasma gondii

    PMID:38502570

    Open questions at the time
    • Evolutionary/computational inference without direct functional validation
    • Functional relationship between AMT1 and AMT2 not experimentally dissected
    • Single-study inference

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • The direct transport substrate of AMT1, its transport mechanism, and how it functionally partners with AMT2 remain unresolved.
  • No biochemical demonstration of substrate transport
  • No structural characterization
  • AMT1/AMT2 functional interplay uncharacterized

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
Partners
AMT2

Evidence

Reading pass · 2 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2024 AMT1 (apicomplexan monocarboxylate transporter 1) was identified as an apicoplast transporter in Toxoplasma gondii using TurboID proximity labeling and genome engineering; protein depletion of AMT1 demonstrated it is critical for parasite growth and is associated with biosynthesis of isoprenoids and fatty acids within the apicoplast. TurboID proximity labeling, genome engineering, protein depletion (conditional knockdown), metabolite analyses eLife Medium 38502570
2024 AMT1 and its partner AMT2 appear to have evolved from a putative host cell that engulfed a red alga, suggesting an endosymbiotic evolutionary origin for this pair of apicoplast monocarboxylate transporters in apicomplexans. Phylogenetic/evolutionary analysis (genome engineering and comparative genomics) eLife Low 38502570

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 1 paper · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2024 The Toxoplasma monocarboxylate transporters are involved in the metabolism within the apicoplast and are linked to parasite survival. eLife 12 38502570