Affinage · Plasmodium

SYN18

PF3D7_1326800 · syntaxin, Qa-SNARE family

Annotated
2026-09-08
8 papers in source corpus 2 papers cited in narrative 2 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

PF3D7_1326800 (SYN18) has been identified computationally as one of the SNARE-like proteins encoded in the Plasmodium falciparum genome, classified as a member of a P. falciparum-specific syntaxin-like Qa-SNARE subfamily distinct from the five canonical eukaryotic SNARE groups (PMID:19103232, PMID:17240462). In the two genome-wide surveys that name it, SYN18 was defined solely by sequence-based classification; the direct GFP-tagging and localization experiments in these studies were carried out on other family members (PfStx1, PfSyn5p, PfSec22p), not on SYN18 itself (PMID:19103232, PMID:17240462). Beyond this computational family assignment, no experimental evidence establishing SYN18's subcellular localization, binding partners, membrane-fusion activity, or specific cellular function has been reported in the available corpus.

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 2 steps
  1. 2006 Low

    Before genome-wide cataloguing, the parasite's vesicle-trafficking machinery was undefined; classifying the full SNARE complement established SYN18 as a member of a P. falciparum-specific syntaxin-like subfamily and placed it within the trafficking gene set.

    Evidence Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the P. falciparum genome identifying 18 SNARE-like proteins; GFP-tagging was applied to other members, not SYN18.

    PMID:17240462

    Open questions at the time
    • Classification is purely computational; no experiment was performed on SYN18 itself
    • Subcellular localization of SYN18 unknown
    • No binding partners or SNARE-complex assignments established
  2. 2008 Low

    A focused analysis of the parasite Qa-SNAREs refined SYN18's classification as one of seven Qa-SNAREs and used sequence alignment to predict its intracellular location, but direct localization was demonstrated only for a different family member.

    Evidence Bioinformatics sequence alignment and gene-structure confirmation; experimental localization performed for PfStx1, not SYN18.

    PMID:19103232

    Open questions at the time
    • Predicted localization for SYN18 was not experimentally confirmed
    • No functional or interaction data for SYN18
    • Role in any specific trafficking step undefined

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • It remains unknown where SYN18 localizes, which SNARE partners it assembles with, and what membrane-fusion or trafficking event it mediates in P. falciparum.
  • No experimental subcellular localization
  • No identified cognate SNARE partners or complex membership
  • No functional or phenotypic data (e.g. knockout/knockdown)

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification
No controlled-vocabulary terms were assigned to this entry.

Evidence

Reading pass · 2 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2008 PF3D7_1326800 (SYN18) was identified as one of seven Qa-SNAREs in the P. falciparum genome; comprehensive sequence alignments were used to predict its intracellular location, but its specific localization was not experimentally confirmed in this study (only PfStx1 was experimentally localized). Bioinformatics sequence alignment and gene structure confirmation; experimental localization was performed for a different family member (PfStx1), not for SYN18 itself. Molecular and biochemical parasitology Low 19103232
2006 PF3D7_1326800 (SYN18) was identified as one of 18 SNARE-like proteins in the P. falciparum genome and classified within a P. falciparum-specific syntaxin-like subfamily, distinct from the five main phylogenetic groups. No direct experimental characterization of SYN18 subcellular localization or function was reported. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the P. falciparum genome; GFP-tagging experiments were performed on other family members (PfSyn5p, PfSec22p), not on SYN18. Molecular and biochemical parasitology Low 17240462

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 8 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2006 Identification of Plasmodium falciparum family of SNAREs. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 38 17240462
2020 The ZIP Code of Vesicle Trafficking in Apicomplexa: SEC1/Munc18 and SNARE Proteins. mBio 33 33082261
2019 Plasmodium Secretion Induces Hepatocyte Lysosome Exocytosis and Promotes Parasite Entry. iScience 21 31731198
2012 The isoprenoid-precursor dependence of Plasmodium spp. Natural product reports 19 22555616
2010 Evidence for prenylation-dependent targeting of a Ykt6 SNARE in Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 19 21075148
2014 Computational prediction of protein interactions related to the invasion of erythrocytes by malarial parasites. BMC bioinformatics 14 25433733
2009 The longin domain regulates the steady-state dynamics of Sec22 in Plasmodium falciparum. Eukaryotic cell 7 19617396
2008 Plasmodium falciparum secretory pathway: characterization of PfStx1, a plasma membrane Qa-SNARE. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 7 19103232