Affinage · Plasmodium

RPL31

PF3D7_0503800 · 60S ribosomal protein L31

Annotated
2026-09-07
5 papers in source corpus 4 papers cited in narrative 4 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

PF3D7_0503800 (RPL31) is established as a structural component of the 60S large subunit of the Plasmodium falciparum cytoplasmic 80S ribosome, resolved within the assembled ribosome by high-resolution cryo-EM and, in native infected erythrocytes, by in situ cryo-electron tomography of actively translating ribosomes (PMID:24913268, PMID:40825879). Its placement in the large subunit has been reproduced across multiple structural studies of blood-stage ribosomes captured in distinct translational and elongation states (PMID:26432834, PMID:40825879), and within structures used to define the ribosomal binding sites of the antimalarials emetine and mefloquine (PMID:24913268, PMID:28288098). Beyond this membership in the 60S subunit, no enzymatic activity, specific binding partner, post-translational modification, or functional role distinct from its structural role in the ribosome has been characterized for PF3D7_0503800 in the available corpus.

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 4 steps
  1. 2014 Medium

    Establishing the molecular composition of the P. falciparum ribosome required resolving individual proteins in the assembled complex; RPL31 was placed within the 60S large subunit of the cytoplasmic 80S ribosome.

    Evidence Cryo-EM structure of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome at 3.2 Å resolution

    PMID:24913268

    Open questions at the time
    • No functional experiment directed at RPL31 itself
    • Structural membership inferred from ribosome assembly, not from RPL31-specific perturbation
  2. 2015 Medium

    Whether RPL31's large-subunit placement holds across ribosomes in different translational states was addressed by reconstructing ribosomes purified from blood-stage schizonts in multiple states.

    Evidence Cryo-EM reconstruction (sub-nanometer) of schizont ribosomes with flexible fitting of atomic models into five density maps

    PMID:26432834

    Open questions at the time
    • No functional role assigned to RPL31
    • No perturbation of RPL31 to test its contribution to translation
  3. 2017 Medium

    Structures used to define antimalarial binding sites reconfirmed RPL31 as a large-subunit component, though the functional mutagenesis targeted the mefloquine site rather than RPL31.

    Evidence Cryo-EM structure at 3.2 Å of the 80S ribosome with mefloquine plus site-directed mutagenesis of binding-site residues

    PMID:28288098

    Open questions at the time
    • Mutagenesis addressed the mefloquine site, not RPL31
    • No evidence RPL31 contacts or contributes to drug binding
  4. 2025 Medium

    Whether RPL31 is a component of native, actively translating ribosomes in the cellular context was addressed by visualizing ribosomes in situ inside infected human erythrocytes.

    Evidence In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes yielding eight ribosome structures in elongation states

    PMID:40825879

    Open questions at the time
    • No experiment specifically targeting RPL31
    • Functional contribution of RPL31 to the elongation cycle not tested

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • It remains unknown whether PF3D7_0503800 has any function, binding partner, or property distinct from its structural membership in the 60S subunit.
  • No genetic knockout or knockdown of RPL31
  • No RPL31-specific binding partners or post-translational modifications identified
  • No role distinct from ribosome membership defined

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
Complex memberships
60S large ribosomal subunit of the P. falciparum cytoplasmic 80S ribosome

Evidence

Reading pass · 4 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2014 RPL31 (PF3D7_0503800) was resolved as a structural component of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome in a cryo-EM structure determined at 3.2 Å resolution. The structure placed RPL31 within the 60S large subunit of the cytoplasmic ribosome; the overall structure also revealed how emetine binds the E-site of the small subunit to block mRNA/tRNA translocation. Cryo-EM structure determination at 3.2 Å resolution of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome eLife Medium 24913268
2015 RPL31 (PF3D7_0503800) was identified as a component of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome large subunit through cryo-EM reconstructions of ribosomes purified from blood-stage schizonts, with atomic models built by flexible fitting into five sub-nanometer density maps capturing multiple translational states. Cryo-EM reconstruction (sub-nanometer resolution) of ribosomes purified from P. falciparum blood-stage schizonts; flexible fitting of atomic models Nucleic acids research Medium 26432834
2017 RPL31 (PF3D7_0503800) was resolved as part of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome large subunit in a 3.2 Å cryo-EM structure obtained with mefloquine bound; the structure enabled mutagenesis of mefloquine-binding residues confirming the ribosome as mefloquine's target, but no specific functional role for RPL31 itself was reported beyond its structural presence. Cryo-EM structure at 3.2 Å of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome with mefloquine; site-directed mutagenesis of binding-site residues Nature microbiology Medium 28288098
2025 RPL31 (PF3D7_0503800) was visualized as a component of the native P. falciparum 80S ribosome in actively translating states inside infected human erythrocytes, as determined by in situ cryo-electron tomography at high resolution. Eight structures of the ribosome in elongation states were obtained, revealing molecular details of the malarial translation elongation cycle; no specific functional experiment on RPL31 itself was reported beyond its structural membership. In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected human erythrocytes; eight high-resolution ribosome structures in actively translating states Nature structural & molecular biology Medium 40825879

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 5 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2014 Cryo-EM structure of the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome bound to the anti-protozoan drug emetine. eLife 276 24913268
2017 Mefloquine targets the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome to inhibit protein synthesis. Nature microbiology 138 28288098
2015 Dynamical features of the Plasmodium falciparum ribosome during translation. Nucleic acids research 46 26432834
2025 Integrated structural biology of the native malarial translation machinery and its inhibition by an antimalarial drug. Nature structural & molecular biology 10 40825879
2025 Antimalarial drug artemisinin stabilizes PfRACK1 binding to the ribosome. Structure (London, England : 1993) 4 40480224