{"gene":"PF3D7_0710000","run_date":"2026-09-08T16:26:55","timeline":{"discoveries":[{"year":2023,"finding":"PF3D7_0710000 (SLP/PfSlp) was identified as a novel centrin-interacting centriolar plaque protein in P. falciparum. It localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the centriolar plaque and interacts with centrins at this structure.","method":"Conditional knockdown (inducible), live-cell imaging, co-immunoprecipitation/interaction studies, localization experiments","journal":"PLoS pathogens","confidence":"High","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Strong — reciprocal interaction with centrins established, direct localization to extranuclear centriolar plaque confirmed, conditional knockdown with defined cellular phenotype, replicated in same study by multiple orthogonal methods","pmids":["37130129"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"finding":"Conditional knockdown of SLP (PF3D7_0710000) in P. falciparum blood stages caused a growth delay and reduced number of daughter cells, establishing a functional role in asexual proliferation/schizogony.","method":"Conditional knockdown with growth and daughter-cell-count phenotypic readout","journal":"PLoS pathogens","confidence":"High","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Moderate — clean conditional knockdown with specific quantitative phenotypic readouts (growth delay, reduced merozoite number), single lab but multiple readouts","pmids":["37130129"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"finding":"Knockdown of SLP (PF3D7_0710000) led to a significant increase in intranuclear tubulin abundance and formation of excess microtubules and aberrant mitotic spindles, establishing a functional link between this extranuclear centriolar plaque protein and intranuclear tubulin/microtubule homeostasis.","method":"Conditional knockdown, fluorescence microscopy, quantification of intranuclear tubulin signal","journal":"PLoS pathogens","confidence":"High","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Moderate — conditional knockdown combined with quantitative imaging and specific intranuclear phenotype, single lab with multiple orthogonal microscopy readouts","pmids":["37130129"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"finding":"Time-lapse microscopy after SLP (PF3D7_0710000) knockdown revealed that excess microtubules prevented or delayed mitotic spindle extension but did not significantly interfere with DNA replication, placing SLP upstream of spindle dynamics but not DNA replication.","method":"Time-lapse live-cell microscopy following conditional knockdown","journal":"PLoS pathogens","confidence":"Medium","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Weak — single lab, live-cell time-lapse imaging with conditional knockdown, but single method for the pathway-placement claim","pmids":["37130129"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]}],"current_model":"SLP (PF3D7_0710000) is an Sfi1-like, centrin-interacting protein that localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the P. falciparum centriolar plaque; its conditional depletion disrupts intranuclear tubulin homeostasis, causing excess microtubules, aberrant mitotic spindles, delayed spindle extension, and reduced daughter cell formation, thereby establishing a functional link between this extranuclear centrosome component and intranuclear microtubule regulation during asexual blood-stage proliferation."},"narrative":{"mechanistic_narrative":"SLP (PF3D7_0710000) is an Sfi1-like, centrin-interacting protein of the Plasmodium falciparum centriolar plaque that couples the extranuclear centrosome-equivalent to intranuclear microtubule regulation during asexual blood-stage proliferation [PMID:37130129]. It localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the centriolar plaque, where it interacts with centrins [PMID:37130129]. Conditional depletion of SLP disrupts intranuclear tubulin homeostasis, driving increased intranuclear tubulin abundance, excess microtubules, and aberrant mitotic spindles, which delay or prevent mitotic spindle extension without significantly impairing DNA replication [PMID:37130129]; the functional consequence is a growth delay and reduced daughter cell formation during schizogony [PMID:37130129]. Beyond this single-study characterization in P. falciparum, no further mechanistic detail—including the structural basis of centrin binding or how an extranuclear protein controls intranuclear tubulin—has been characterized in the available corpus.","teleology":[{"year":2023,"claim":"Establishing that PF3D7_0710000 is a bona fide centriolar plaque component answered where this uncharacterized protein acts and identified its physical partner within the centrosome-equivalent.","evidence":"Conditional knockdown, live-cell imaging, and co-immunoprecipitation/localization in P. falciparum showing extranuclear centriolar plaque localization and centrin interaction","pmids":["37130129"],"confidence":"High","gaps":["Structural basis and stoichiometry of the SLP–centrin interaction not defined","Whether SLP has activities beyond scaffolding at the plaque is unknown"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"claim":"Conditional knockdown answered whether SLP is functionally required, showing it contributes to asexual proliferation rather than being dispensable.","evidence":"Inducible conditional knockdown with growth and daughter-cell-count readouts in P. falciparum blood stages","pmids":["37130129"],"confidence":"High","gaps":["Whether SLP is essential or only rate-limiting is not resolved","Role in stages other than asexual blood-stage schizogony untested"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"claim":"Quantifying the depletion phenotype answered what cellular process SLP controls, linking this extranuclear plaque protein to intranuclear tubulin and microtubule homeostasis.","evidence":"Conditional knockdown with fluorescence microscopy quantifying intranuclear tubulin signal and spindle morphology in P. falciparum","pmids":["37130129"],"confidence":"High","gaps":["Molecular mechanism by which an extranuclear protein influences intranuclear tubulin is unknown","Whether the effect is direct or via a downstream mediator not established"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"claim":"Time-lapse imaging placed SLP in the mitotic pathway, showing it acts upstream of spindle extension but not of DNA replication.","evidence":"Time-lapse live-cell microscopy following conditional knockdown in P. falciparum","pmids":["37130129"],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["Pathway placement rests on a single imaging method","How excess microtubules mechanically or biochemically block spindle extension is unresolved"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":null,"claim":"It remains unknown how SLP, an extranuclear centriolar plaque protein, mechanistically restrains intranuclear tubulin polymerization and what molecular intermediary bridges the two compartments.","evidence":"","pmids":[],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["No biochemical mechanism connecting SLP to intranuclear tubulin identified","No structural model of SLP or its complex available","Function outside asexual blood stages uncharacterized"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]}],"mechanism_profile":{"molecular_activity":[],"localization":[],"pathway":[],"complexes":[],"partners":["CENTRIN"],"other_free_text":["Sfi1-like centriolar plaque protein of P. falciparum localizing to the extranuclear compartment [#0]","Conditional knockdown increases intranuclear tubulin, produces excess microtubules and aberrant spindles, and reduces daughter cell formation [#1, #2]","Acts upstream of mitotic spindle extension but not DNA replication [#3]"]}},"prefetch_data":{},"corpus_meta":[{"pmid":"37130129","id":"PMC_37130129","title":"An Sfi1-like centrin-interacting centriolar plaque protein affects nuclear microtubule homeostasis.","date":"2023","source":"PLoS pathogens","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37130129","citation_count":8,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["Sfi1","PfSLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"41966402","id":"","title":"Deciphering Membrane Protein Complexes in Plasmodium falciparum Gametocytes via Integrative Structural Systems Biology.","date":"2026","source":"Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41966402","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"38563493","id":"","title":"The molecular mechanisms driving Plasmodium cell division.","date":"2024","source":"Biochemical Society transactions","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38563493","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"36326242","id":"","title":"Toxoplasma Shelph, a Phosphatase Located in the Parasite Endoplasmic Reticulum, Is Required for Parasite Virulence.","date":"2022","source":"mSphere","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36326242","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":true,"competing_organism_match":"Toxoplasma","competing_organism_only":true},{"pmid":"38987258","id":"","title":"Disruption of Plasmodium falciparum kinetochore proteins destabilises the nexus between the centrosome equivalent and the mitotic apparatus.","date":"2024","source":"Nature communications","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38987258","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"38150475","id":"","title":"Malaria parasite centrins can assemble by Ca2+-inducible condensation.","date":"2023","source":"PLoS pathogens","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38150475","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"35083211","id":"","title":"Functional Characterization of 17 Protein Serine/Threonine Phosphatases in Toxoplasma gondii Using CRISPR-Cas9 System.","date":"2022","source":"Frontiers in cell and developmental biology","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35083211","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":true,"competing_organism_match":"Toxoplasma","competing_organism_only":true},{"pmid":"15555063","id":"","title":"Widespread presence of \"bacterial-like\" PPP phosphatases in eukaryotes.","date":"2004","source":"BMC evolutionary biology","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15555063","citation_count":0,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["SLP"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false}],"cost":{"stage1":{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-6","input_tokens":10671,"output_tokens":1086,"usd":0.024151,"stage1_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"stage2":{"model":"claude-opus-4-8","input_tokens":5917,"output_tokens":1948,"usd":0.039142,"stage2_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"total_usd":0.063293,"stage1_batch_id":"msgbatch_01NE1MTa8x1hW7Lo4tAaNzY1","stage2_batch_id":"msgbatch_0141vaQdeFvbo2q39AinvXM9","note":"batch pricing = 50% of standard"},"stage1_raw":"```json\n{\n  \"discoveries\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"finding\": \"PF3D7_0710000 (SLP/PfSlp) was identified as a novel centrin-interacting centriolar plaque protein in P. falciparum. It localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the centriolar plaque and interacts with centrins at this structure.\",\n      \"method\": \"Conditional knockdown (inducible), live-cell imaging, co-immunoprecipitation/interaction studies, localization experiments\",\n      \"journal\": \"PLoS pathogens\",\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Strong — reciprocal interaction with centrins established, direct localization to extranuclear centriolar plaque confirmed, conditional knockdown with defined cellular phenotype, replicated in same study by multiple orthogonal methods\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"finding\": \"Conditional knockdown of SLP (PF3D7_0710000) in P. falciparum blood stages caused a growth delay and reduced number of daughter cells, establishing a functional role in asexual proliferation/schizogony.\",\n      \"method\": \"Conditional knockdown with growth and daughter-cell-count phenotypic readout\",\n      \"journal\": \"PLoS pathogens\",\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Moderate — clean conditional knockdown with specific quantitative phenotypic readouts (growth delay, reduced merozoite number), single lab but multiple readouts\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"finding\": \"Knockdown of SLP (PF3D7_0710000) led to a significant increase in intranuclear tubulin abundance and formation of excess microtubules and aberrant mitotic spindles, establishing a functional link between this extranuclear centriolar plaque protein and intranuclear tubulin/microtubule homeostasis.\",\n      \"method\": \"Conditional knockdown, fluorescence microscopy, quantification of intranuclear tubulin signal\",\n      \"journal\": \"PLoS pathogens\",\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Moderate — conditional knockdown combined with quantitative imaging and specific intranuclear phenotype, single lab with multiple orthogonal microscopy readouts\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"finding\": \"Time-lapse microscopy after SLP (PF3D7_0710000) knockdown revealed that excess microtubules prevented or delayed mitotic spindle extension but did not significantly interfere with DNA replication, placing SLP upstream of spindle dynamics but not DNA replication.\",\n      \"method\": \"Time-lapse live-cell microscopy following conditional knockdown\",\n      \"journal\": \"PLoS pathogens\",\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Weak — single lab, live-cell time-lapse imaging with conditional knockdown, but single method for the pathway-placement claim\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"current_model\": \"SLP (PF3D7_0710000) is an Sfi1-like, centrin-interacting protein that localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the P. falciparum centriolar plaque; its conditional depletion disrupts intranuclear tubulin homeostasis, causing excess microtubules, aberrant mitotic spindles, delayed spindle extension, and reduced daughter cell formation, thereby establishing a functional link between this extranuclear centrosome component and intranuclear microtubule regulation during asexual blood-stage proliferation.\"\n}\n```","stage2_raw":"{\n  \"mechanistic_narrative\": \"SLP (PF3D7_0710000) is an Sfi1-like, centrin-interacting protein of the Plasmodium falciparum centriolar plaque that couples the extranuclear centrosome-equivalent to intranuclear microtubule regulation during asexual blood-stage proliferation [#0, #2]. It localizes to the extranuclear compartment of the centriolar plaque, where it interacts with centrins [#0]. Conditional depletion of SLP disrupts intranuclear tubulin homeostasis, driving increased intranuclear tubulin abundance, excess microtubules, and aberrant mitotic spindles, which delay or prevent mitotic spindle extension without significantly impairing DNA replication [#2, #3]; the functional consequence is a growth delay and reduced daughter cell formation during schizogony [#1]. Beyond this single-study characterization in P. falciparum, no further mechanistic detail—including the structural basis of centrin binding or how an extranuclear protein controls intranuclear tubulin—has been characterized in the available corpus.\",\n  \"teleology\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"claim\": \"Establishing that PF3D7_0710000 is a bona fide centriolar plaque component answered where this uncharacterized protein acts and identified its physical partner within the centrosome-equivalent.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Conditional knockdown, live-cell imaging, and co-immunoprecipitation/localization in P. falciparum showing extranuclear centriolar plaque localization and centrin interaction\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"gaps\": [\"Structural basis and stoichiometry of the SLP–centrin interaction not defined\", \"Whether SLP has activities beyond scaffolding at the plaque is unknown\"],\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"claim\": \"Conditional knockdown answered whether SLP is functionally required, showing it contributes to asexual proliferation rather than being dispensable.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Inducible conditional knockdown with growth and daughter-cell-count readouts in P. falciparum blood stages\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"gaps\": [\"Whether SLP is essential or only rate-limiting is not resolved\", \"Role in stages other than asexual blood-stage schizogony untested\"],\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"claim\": \"Quantifying the depletion phenotype answered what cellular process SLP controls, linking this extranuclear plaque protein to intranuclear tubulin and microtubule homeostasis.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Conditional knockdown with fluorescence microscopy quantifying intranuclear tubulin signal and spindle morphology in P. falciparum\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"High\",\n      \"gaps\": [\"Molecular mechanism by which an extranuclear protein influences intranuclear tubulin is unknown\", \"Whether the effect is direct or via a downstream mediator not established\"],\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"claim\": \"Time-lapse imaging placed SLP in the mitotic pathway, showing it acts upstream of spindle extension but not of DNA replication.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Time-lapse live-cell microscopy following conditional knockdown in P. falciparum\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"37130129\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\"Pathway placement rests on a single imaging method\", \"How excess microtubules mechanically or biochemically block spindle extension is unresolved\"],\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": null,\n      \"claim\": \"It remains unknown how SLP, an extranuclear centriolar plaque protein, mechanistically restrains intranuclear tubulin polymerization and what molecular intermediary bridges the two compartments.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"\",\n      \"pmids\": [],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\"No biochemical mechanism connecting SLP to intranuclear tubulin identified\", \"No structural model of SLP or its complex available\", \"Function outside asexual blood stages uncharacterized\"],\n      \"attribution\": [{\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"mechanism_profile\": {\n    \"molecular_activity\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0048487\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0]}\n    ],\n    \"localization\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0005813\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0]}\n    ],\n    \"pathway\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0007052\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [2, 3]},\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0000278\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [1, 2]}\n    ],\n    \"complexes\": [],\n    \"partners\": [\"centrin\"],\n    \"other_free_text\": [\n      \"Sfi1-like centriolar plaque protein of P. falciparum localizing to the extranuclear compartment [#0]\",\n      \"Conditional knockdown increases intranuclear tubulin, produces excess microtubules and aberrant spindles, and reduces daughter cell formation [#1, #2]\",\n      \"Acts upstream of mitotic spindle extension but not DNA replication [#3]\"\n    ]\n  }\n}","audit_flag":null,"strains":[{"strain":"Pf3D7","gene_id":"PF3D7_0710000","name":null,"product":"Sfi1-like protein SLP","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null},{"strain":"PbANKA","gene_id":"PBANKA_1220600","name":null,"product":"conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null},{"strain":"PkH","gene_id":"PKNH_0108700","name":null,"product":"conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null}],"gene_symbol":"SLP","evaluation":null}