AKIT2

AKIT2 (PF3D7_1004500) is an apicomplexan kinetochore component identified as one of 13 previously unknown kinetochore proteins in Apicomplexa, and it is a member of a multi-subunit kinetochore complex that is organized into at least four discrete compartments with distinct biochemical interactions and subkinetochore localizations (PMID:36006241). Beyond this membership in the kinetochore complex, no specific catalytic activity, individual binding partner, or discrete functional role has been experimentally established for AKIT2 itself in the available corpus.

1. 2022 Medium

   Whether Apicomplexa possess additional, previously unrecognized kinetochore subunits was unknown; combining interactomics with deep homology searches revealed AKIT2 as one of 13 new components of a compartmentalized apicomplexan kinetochore complex, placing AKIT2 within the chromosome-segregation machinery.

   Evidence Interactomics (co-immunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry) with deep homology searches and localization imaging in P. falciparum and P. berghei

   PMID:36006241

   Open questions at the time

   • No functional experiment (knockdown, knockout, or rescue) was performed on AKIT2 alone, so its individual contribution to kinetochore function is undefined
   • No specific direct binding partner or subcompartment assignment is established for AKIT2 itself
   • No catalytic activity or molecular mechanism has been attributed to AKIT2

• The individual molecular function of AKIT2, its specific binding partners, its subkinetochore compartment assignment, and its requirement for chromosome segregation remain uncharacterized in the available corpus.
• No direct partner of AKIT2 has been mapped beyond bulk complex membership
• No loss-of-function phenotype for AKIT2 has been reported
• No structural or biochemical characterization of AKIT2 exists