TGME49_316650

TGME49_316650 is a parasite-specific subunit of a partially conserved FHF (HOOK-FTS-FHIP) trafficking adaptor complex in Toxoplasma gondii, where it associates with HOOK, an FTS homolog, and a second apicomplexan-specific protein to support dynein-mediated apical trafficking of micronemes (PMID:37933960). The protein is a substrate of the calcium-dependent kinase CDPK1, linking its function to the signaling that drives microneme secretion and host cell invasion (PMID:37933960). Loss of the complex's core HOOK and FTS components impairs microneme protein secretion and blocks invasion, but the individual functional contribution of TGME49_316650 has not been characterized in the available corpus.

1. 2023 Medium

   The composition of the Toxoplasma microneme-trafficking machinery was undefined; identifying TGME49_316650 as a parasite-specific member of an FHF adaptor complex established a molecular link between dynein-based transport and apical microneme delivery.

   Evidence CDPK1 substrate bio-orthogonal labeling with sub-minute phosphoproteomics, co-immunoprecipitation defining FHF complex membership, and loss-of-function of HOOK/FTS scoring microneme secretion and invasion in T. gondii

   PMID:37933960

   Open questions at the time

   • TGME49_316650 was not individually knocked out, so its specific requirement for trafficking is unestablished
   • The invasion/secretion phenotype was attributed to HOOK and FTS, not to TGME49_316650 directly
   • The functional consequence of CDPK1 phosphorylation of TGME49_316650 is undefined