{"gene":"PF3D7_1337400","run_date":"2026-09-08T14:19:06","timeline":{"discoveries":[{"year":2023,"finding":"PF3D7_1337400 was identified as a female-determining zinc-finger protein in Plasmodium berghei (with validation in P. falciparum context); its protein interactors indicate it participates in germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes that complement transcriptional processes in female sexual development and transmission.","method":"Global screen of barcoded mutants; single-cell transcriptomics of mutant parasites; protein interactor identification","journal":"Cell host & microbe","confidence":"Medium","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Moderate — barcoded mutant screen combined with single-cell transcriptomics and interactor identification in a single study; replication across P. berghei and P. falciparum contexts but protein complex membership is the primary mechanistic claim","pmids":["36634679"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium berghei","strain":""},{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2016,"finding":"The P. falciparum homolog of TgZNF2 (corresponding to PF3D7_1337400) was able to rescue the mRNA nuclear export defect in Toxoplasma gondii iKO-TgZNF2 parasites, indicating that the function of this zinc finger protein in polyA+ mRNA nuclear export is conserved in P. falciparum.","method":"Complementation of T. gondii iKO strain with full-length P. falciparum homolog; polyA+ mRNA localization assay","journal":"Cellular microbiology","confidence":"Medium","confidence_rationale":"Tier 2 / Moderate — functional complementation across species with phenotypic rescue is a direct experimental result, but the mechanistic detail is established in T. gondii and only inferred for P. falciparum via cross-complementation in a single lab study","pmids":["27385072"],"is_preprint":false,"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]}],"current_model":"PF3D7_1337400 is a zinc finger protein that acts as a female sex-determining factor in Plasmodium, functioning through germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes (identified via protein interactors), and its homolog in related apicomplexans is essential for polyA+ mRNA nuclear export, a function that cross-complementation experiments suggest is conserved in P. falciparum."},"narrative":{"mechanistic_narrative":"PF3D7_1337400 is a Plasmodium zinc finger protein that functions in the RNA biology of parasite sexual development and mRNA handling [PMID:36634679, PMID:27385072]. In P. berghei, with validation in the P. falciparum context, it acts as a female-determining factor whose protein interactors place it within germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes that support transcriptional processes underlying female sexual development and transmission [PMID:36634679]. A conserved biochemical role is indicated by cross-species complementation: the P. falciparum homolog rescues the polyA+ mRNA nuclear export defect of a Toxoplasma gondii TgZNF2 inducible knockout, implying that PF3D7_1337400 contributes to polyA+ mRNA nuclear export [PMID:27385072]. Beyond membership in these ribonucleoprotein complexes and the complementation-inferred mRNA export activity, no further mechanistic detail for PF3D7_1337400 itself has been characterized in the available corpus.","teleology":[{"year":2016,"claim":"To test whether a conserved zinc finger protein controls mRNA nuclear export in malaria parasites, the P. falciparum homolog was asked to substitute for its Toxoplasma counterpart, establishing that this activity is functionally conserved.","evidence":"Complementation of a T. gondii iKO-TgZNF2 strain with full-length P. falciparum homolog and polyA+ mRNA localization assay","pmids":["27385072"],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["Mechanistic detail was established in T. gondii and only inferred for P. falciparum via cross-complementation in a single lab study","The direct polyA+ mRNA export function of PF3D7_1337400 has not been demonstrated natively in P. falciparum","No structural or biochemical characterization of the zinc finger's RNA-binding activity"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":2023,"claim":"To define the gene's role in parasite sexual development, mutant screening and single-cell transcriptomics identified it as a female-determining factor and its interactors placed it in germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes, linking it to transmission biology.","evidence":"Global screen of barcoded mutants, single-cell transcriptomics of mutants, and protein interactor identification in P. berghei with P. falciparum context","pmids":["36634679"],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["Protein complex membership is the primary mechanistic claim; direct enzymatic or RNA-processing activity of PF3D7_1337400 within these complexes is not resolved","How the female-determining role relates mechanistically to the mRNA export function is not established","The specific RNA targets and interacting partners in P. falciparum are not defined"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium berghei","strain":""},{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]},{"year":null,"claim":"How PF3D7_1337400 mechanistically couples its ribonucleoprotein complex membership, female sex-determination role, and polyA+ mRNA nuclear export activity within a single unified pathway remains unresolved.","evidence":"","pmids":[],"confidence":"Medium","gaps":["No native demonstration of mRNA export activity in P. falciparum","RNA substrates and complex composition in P. falciparum undefined","No structural model of the zinc finger domain or its RNA/protein contacts"],"attribution":[{"species":"Plasmodium falciparum","strain":""}]}],"mechanism_profile":{"molecular_activity":[],"localization":[],"pathway":[],"complexes":["germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complex [#0]"],"partners":[],"other_free_text":["Female sex-determining zinc finger factor in Plasmodium berghei, with validation in the P. falciparum context [#0]","P. falciparum homolog rescues polyA+ mRNA nuclear export defect of a T. gondii TgZNF2 inducible knockout, indicating conserved mRNA export function [#1]"]}},"prefetch_data":{},"corpus_meta":[{"pmid":"36634679","id":"PMC_36634679","title":"Regulators of male and female sexual development are critical for the transmission of a malaria parasite.","date":"2023","source":"Cell host & microbe","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36634679","citation_count":53,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["zinc finger protein"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"34418264","id":"PMC_34418264","title":"Zinc finger proteins of Plasmodium falciparum.","date":"2021","source":"Cellular microbiology","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34418264","citation_count":33,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["zinc finger protein"],"competing_organism_flag":false,"competing_organism_match":"","competing_organism_only":false},{"pmid":"27385072","id":"PMC_27385072","title":"An evolutionary conserved zinc finger protein is involved in Toxoplasma gondii mRNA nuclear export.","date":"2016","source":"Cellular microbiology","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27385072","citation_count":14,"is_preprint":false,"source_species":["Pf"],"role":"primary","match_terms":["zinc finger protein"],"competing_organism_flag":true,"competing_organism_match":"Toxoplasma","competing_organism_only":true}],"cost":{"stage1":{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-6","input_tokens":4043,"output_tokens":709,"usd":0.011382,"stage1_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"stage2":{"model":"claude-opus-4-8","input_tokens":5259,"output_tokens":1711,"usd":0.034535,"stage2_stop_reason":"end_turn"},"total_usd":0.045917,"stage1_batch_id":"msgbatch_011BPjN2BL33F8cJXD1r7V7T","stage2_batch_id":"msgbatch_01Qwg6vP7qxkpL6Gsc7tajsb","note":"batch pricing = 50% of standard"},"stage1_raw":"```json\n{\n  \"discoveries\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"finding\": \"PF3D7_1337400 was identified as a female-determining zinc-finger protein in Plasmodium berghei (with validation in P. falciparum context); its protein interactors indicate it participates in germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes that complement transcriptional processes in female sexual development and transmission.\",\n      \"method\": \"Global screen of barcoded mutants; single-cell transcriptomics of mutant parasites; protein interactor identification\",\n      \"journal\": \"Cell host & microbe\",\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Moderate — barcoded mutant screen combined with single-cell transcriptomics and interactor identification in a single study; replication across P. berghei and P. falciparum contexts but protein complex membership is the primary mechanistic claim\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"36634679\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium berghei\", \"strain\": \"\"},\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2016,\n      \"finding\": \"The P. falciparum homolog of TgZNF2 (corresponding to PF3D7_1337400) was able to rescue the mRNA nuclear export defect in Toxoplasma gondii iKO-TgZNF2 parasites, indicating that the function of this zinc finger protein in polyA+ mRNA nuclear export is conserved in P. falciparum.\",\n      \"method\": \"Complementation of T. gondii iKO strain with full-length P. falciparum homolog; polyA+ mRNA localization assay\",\n      \"journal\": \"Cellular microbiology\",\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"confidence_rationale\": \"Tier 2 / Moderate — functional complementation across species with phenotypic rescue is a direct experimental result, but the mechanistic detail is established in T. gondii and only inferred for P. falciparum via cross-complementation in a single lab study\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"27385072\"],\n      \"is_preprint\": false,\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"current_model\": \"PF3D7_1337400 is a zinc finger protein that acts as a female sex-determining factor in Plasmodium, functioning through germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes (identified via protein interactors), and its homolog in related apicomplexans is essential for polyA+ mRNA nuclear export, a function that cross-complementation experiments suggest is conserved in P. falciparum.\"\n}\n```","stage2_raw":"{\n  \"mechanistic_narrative\": \"PF3D7_1337400 is a Plasmodium zinc finger protein that functions in the RNA biology of parasite sexual development and mRNA handling [#0, #1]. In P. berghei, with validation in the P. falciparum context, it acts as a female-determining factor whose protein interactors place it within germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes that support transcriptional processes underlying female sexual development and transmission [#0]. A conserved biochemical role is indicated by cross-species complementation: the P. falciparum homolog rescues the polyA+ mRNA nuclear export defect of a Toxoplasma gondii TgZNF2 inducible knockout, implying that PF3D7_1337400 contributes to polyA+ mRNA nuclear export [#1]. Beyond membership in these ribonucleoprotein complexes and the complementation-inferred mRNA export activity, no further mechanistic detail for PF3D7_1337400 itself has been characterized in the available corpus.\",\n  \"teleology\": [\n    {\n      \"year\": 2016,\n      \"claim\": \"To test whether a conserved zinc finger protein controls mRNA nuclear export in malaria parasites, the P. falciparum homolog was asked to substitute for its Toxoplasma counterpart, establishing that this activity is functionally conserved.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Complementation of a T. gondii iKO-TgZNF2 strain with full-length P. falciparum homolog and polyA+ mRNA localization assay\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"27385072\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\n        \"Mechanistic detail was established in T. gondii and only inferred for P. falciparum via cross-complementation in a single lab study\",\n        \"The direct polyA+ mRNA export function of PF3D7_1337400 has not been demonstrated natively in P. falciparum\",\n        \"No structural or biochemical characterization of the zinc finger's RNA-binding activity\"\n      ],\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": 2023,\n      \"claim\": \"To define the gene's role in parasite sexual development, mutant screening and single-cell transcriptomics identified it as a female-determining factor and its interactors placed it in germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complexes, linking it to transmission biology.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"Global screen of barcoded mutants, single-cell transcriptomics of mutants, and protein interactor identification in P. berghei with P. falciparum context\",\n      \"pmids\": [\"36634679\"],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\n        \"Protein complex membership is the primary mechanistic claim; direct enzymatic or RNA-processing activity of PF3D7_1337400 within these complexes is not resolved\",\n        \"How the female-determining role relates mechanistically to the mRNA export function is not established\",\n        \"The specific RNA targets and interacting partners in P. falciparum are not defined\"\n      ],\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium berghei\", \"strain\": \"\"},\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    },\n    {\n      \"year\": null,\n      \"claim\": \"How PF3D7_1337400 mechanistically couples its ribonucleoprotein complex membership, female sex-determination role, and polyA+ mRNA nuclear export activity within a single unified pathway remains unresolved.\",\n      \"evidence\": \"\",\n      \"pmids\": [],\n      \"confidence\": \"Medium\",\n      \"gaps\": [\n        \"No native demonstration of mRNA export activity in P. falciparum\",\n        \"RNA substrates and complex composition in P. falciparum undefined\",\n        \"No structural model of the zinc finger domain or its RNA/protein contacts\"\n      ],\n      \"attribution\": [\n        {\"species\": \"Plasmodium falciparum\", \"strain\": \"\"}\n      ]\n    }\n  ],\n  \"mechanism_profile\": {\n    \"molecular_activity\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0003676\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0, 1]}\n    ],\n    \"localization\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0036464\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0]}\n    ],\n    \"pathway\": [\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0016973\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [1]},\n      {\"term_id\": \"GO:0019953\", \"supporting_discovery_ids\": [0]}\n    ],\n    \"complexes\": [\n      \"germ-granule-like ribonucleoprotein complex [#0]\"\n    ],\n    \"partners\": [],\n    \"other_free_text\": [\n      \"Female sex-determining zinc finger factor in Plasmodium berghei, with validation in the P. falciparum context [#0]\",\n      \"P. falciparum homolog rescues polyA+ mRNA nuclear export defect of a T. gondii TgZNF2 inducible knockout, indicating conserved mRNA export function [#1]\"\n    ]\n  }\n}","audit_flag":{"gene":"PF3D7_1337400","tier":"IDENTITY_CHECK","verdict":"identity unverified","subtype":"names_other_cards","uniprot_band":"","rules_fired":"R12","issue":"No cited paper names this card; 1 of 2 cited papers name other catalogue genes (PF3D7_1222600). The summary may describe one of those genes."},"strains":[{"strain":"Pf3D7","gene_id":"PF3D7_1337400","name":null,"product":"zinc finger protein, putative","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null},{"strain":"PbANKA","gene_id":"PBANKA_1351200","name":null,"product":"zinc finger protein, putative","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null},{"strain":"PkH","gene_id":"PKNH_1263900","name":null,"product":"zinc finger protein, putative","uniprot_acc":null,"chromosome":null,"start_pos":null}],"gene_symbol":"","evaluation":null}