Affinage · Plasmodium

RPS16

PF3D7_0813900 · 40S ribosomal protein S16, putative

Annotated
2026-09-08
23 papers in source corpus 4 papers cited in narrative 4 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

PF3D7_0813900 (RPS16) is a component of the 40S small ribosomal subunit of Plasmodium falciparum, resolved within the assembled 80S ribosome by high-resolution cryo-EM of purified particles and, more recently, by in situ cryo-electron tomography of actively translating ribosomes inside infected human erythrocytes (PMID:24913268, PMID:26432834, PMID:40825879). In these structures RPS16 is placed in the small-subunit context alongside the E-site region where the translation inhibitor emetine binds to block mRNA/tRNA translocation, and it is captured during elongation states that distinguish the parasite ribosome from the mammalian ribosome (PMID:24913268, PMID:40825879). Beyond its membership in the 40S small subunit as defined by these whole-ribosome structures, no experiment in the available corpus has individually interrogated the specific function, binding partners, or post-translational modifications of PF3D7_0813900.

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 4 steps
  1. 2004 Low

    Before any functional work, comparative genomics asked whether the RPS16 locus showed evolutionary constraints hinting at conserved regulation, establishing a conserved genomic linkage with fibrillarin across eukaryotes.

    Evidence Comparative genomic synteny mapping of operon gene orthologues across eukaryotes

    PMID:15055736

    Open questions at the time
    • Purely computational; no functional experiment performed on the P. falciparum gene
    • Synteny with fibrillarin does not establish any functional relationship for RPS16
    • No evidence linking the genomic linkage to ribosome function
  2. 2014 Medium

    The unknown was where RPS16 sits within the parasite ribosome; a cryo-EM structure of the 80S ribosome placed RPS16 in the assembled 40S small subunit and defined the small-subunit E-site targeted by emetine.

    Evidence Cryo-EM structure determination at 3.2 Å of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome bound to emetine

    PMID:24913268

    Open questions at the time
    • No experiment dissects RPS16's individual contribution to translation
    • No binding partners specific to RPS16 identified
    • Function beyond structural membership in the small subunit unaddressed
  3. 2015 Medium

    To determine whether the parasite ribosome differs from the mammalian ribosome during translation, multiple cryo-EM reconstructions from blood-stage schizonts resolved RPS16 within the 40S subunit and revealed parasite-specific structural and dynamic features.

    Evidence Five cryo-EM reconstructions with flexible-fitting atomic modeling from schizont-purified ribosomes

    PMID:26432834

    Open questions at the time
    • RPS16 not individually interrogated
    • Parasite-specific features not attributed to RPS16 in particular
    • No functional consequence of the observed dynamics tested
  4. 2025 Medium

    The remaining question was how the small subunit behaves during native translation in vivo; in situ cryo-electron tomography captured RPS16 within actively translating ribosomes inside infected erythrocytes and after inhibitor perturbation.

    Evidence In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected human erythrocytes; eight native ribosome structures

    PMID:40825879

    Open questions at the time
    • No experiment isolates RPS16's role in the elongation states observed
    • Post-translational modifications of RPS16 not addressed
    • No genetic or biochemical test of RPS16 essentiality or partners

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • Whether PF3D7_0813900 has any function, interaction, or regulatory role beyond structural membership in the 40S small subunit remains uncharacterized.
  • No knockdown/knockout phenotype for RPS16
  • No RPS16-specific binding partners or PTMs identified
  • No experiment separates RPS16's contribution from the rest of the small subunit

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
Complex memberships
40S small ribosomal subunit (P. falciparum)80S ribosome (P. falciparum)

Evidence

Reading pass · 4 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2014 PF3D7_0813900 (RPS16), as part of the P. falciparum 40S ribosomal small subunit, was visualized at 3.2 Å resolution in a cryo-EM structure of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome bound to emetine. The small subunit E-site, where emetine binds and blocks mRNA/tRNA translocation, is structurally defined, placing RPS16 in the context of the assembled small subunit. Cryo-EM structure determination at 3.2 Å resolution of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome in complex with emetine eLife Medium 24913268
2015 PF3D7_0813900 (RPS16), as a component of the P. falciparum 40S small subunit, was resolved in five cryo-EM reconstructions of the P. falciparum 80S ribosome purified from blood-stage schizonts at sub-nanometer resolution, revealing structural and dynamic features that differentiate the P. falciparum ribosome from mammalian ribosomes during active translation. Cryo-EM reconstruction (five structures) with atomic model building by flexible fitting, from ribosomes purified from P. falciparum blood-stage schizonts Nucleic acids research Medium 26432834
2025 PF3D7_0813900 (RPS16), as part of the P. falciparum 40S small subunit, was visualized in eight high-resolution structures of the native malarial ribosome in actively translating states inside P. falciparum-infected human erythrocytes using in situ cryo-electron tomography, establishing the small subunit's structural context during elongation and following perturbation by a Plasmodium-specific translation inhibitor. In situ cryo-electron tomography of P. falciparum-infected human erythrocytes; eight high-resolution native ribosome structures determined Nature structural & molecular biology Medium 40825879
2004 The genomic locus encoding RPS16 (PF3D7_0813900) in P. falciparum participates in a highly conserved synteny with fibrillarin across multiple eukaryotes, suggesting a conserved genomic linkage, though no functional experiment was performed specifically on the P. falciparum gene. Comparative genomic synteny mapping of operon gene orthologues across eukaryotes Folia biologica Low 15055736

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 23 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
2006 Malaria transmission-blocking antigen, Pfs230, mediates human red blood cell binding to exflagellating male parasites and oocyst production. Molecular microbiology 144 16879650
2013 Identification of inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte development. Malaria journal 128 24206914
2004 Quantification of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in differential stages of development by quantitative nucleic acid sequence-based amplification. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 127 15279949
1994 Cellular location and temporal expression of the Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage antigen Pfs16. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 95 7935618
1999 Isolation and functional characterization of two distinct sexual-stage-specific promoters of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and cellular biology 82 9891033
2005 Identification of a subtelomeric gene family expressed during the asexual-sexual stage transition in Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 77 15996767
2009 Anopheles dirus co-infection with human and monkey malaria parasites in Vietnam. International journal for parasitology 57 19703460
2014 Multicolor bioluminescence boosts malaria research: quantitative dual-color assay and single-cell imaging in Plasmodium falciparum parasites. Analytical chemistry 52 25102353
1994 Expression of early gametocyte-stage antigens Pfg27 and Pfs16 in synchronized gametocytes and non-gametocyte producing clones of Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 51 7891740
1994 Subcellular localization of Pfs16, a Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte antigen. Parasitology 49 8159458
2015 Dynamical features of the Plasmodium falciparum ribosome during translation. Nucleic acids research 46 26432834
1997 Developmentally regulated expression of pfs16, a marker for sexual differentiation of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 45 9364968
2010 Development of a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) for clinical detection of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes. Parasitology international 43 20542143
2007 Plasmodium falciparum: mRNA co-expression and protein co-localisation of two gene products upregulated in early gametocytes. Experimental parasitology 41 17367781
2004 Functional analysis of Plasmodium falciparum parasitophorous vacuole membrane protein (Pfs16) during gametocytogenesis and gametogenesis by targeted gene disruption. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 41 14698439
2017 Capturing in vivo RNA transcriptional dynamics from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Genome research 40 28416533
2002 Targeting and sequestration of truncated Pfs230 in an intraerythrocytic compartment during Plasmodium falciparum gametocytogenesis. Molecular microbiology 39 12067340
2008 A green fluorescent protein-based assay for determining gametocyte production in Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 35 19027798
2001 Limited polymorphism in Plasmodium falciparum sexual-stage antigens. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 34 11425169
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
2004 Eukaryotic operon genes can define highly conserved syntenies. Folia biologica 2 15055736