CGI121

CGI121 (PF3D7_0511700) is a subunit of the cytoplasmic EKC/KEOPS complex in Plasmodium falciparum, where it associates with Kae1 and Bud32 in an assembly analogous to the conserved EKC/KEOPS complex of other organisms, as established by immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry (PMID:25204654). Beyond this complex membership, no CGI121-specific molecular function, substrate, or phenotype has been characterized in the available corpus.

1. 2014 Medium

   Whether P. falciparum encodes a CGI121 that participates in a KEOPS-like assembly was unknown; identifying its physical partners established CGI121 as a bona fide subunit of a cytoplasmic EKC/KEOPS complex in the parasite.

   Evidence Immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry with cross-compartment proteomic cross-validation in P. falciparum

   PMID:25204654

   Open questions at the time

   • No reciprocal pulldown or in vitro reconstitution confirming direct CGI121-Kae1/Bud32 contacts
   • No functional or phenotypic role for CGI121 itself established
   • No structural model or stoichiometry of the P. falciparum complex determined

• What CGI121 contributes to the EKC/KEOPS complex beyond membership — its specific molecular activity, essentiality, and role in the parasite life cycle — remains unaddressed.
• No knockout, knockdown, or conditional depletion of CGI121 reported
• No demonstrated biochemical activity attributable to CGI121
• No link to tRNA modification or any downstream process shown for the P. falciparum complex