Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42834082›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Identification and characterization of factors that govern apicoplast segregation in Toxoplasma gondii.

Andrew J Mead, Rebecca R Pasquarelli, Brielle H Wong, Isabelle Coppens, Jihui Sha, James A Wohlschlegel, Peter J Bradley

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Andrew J MeadDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-8156-8002
Rebecca R PasquarelliDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0041-5623
Brielle H WongDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Isabelle CoppensDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jihui ShaDepartment of Biological Chemistry and Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7358-1606
James A WohlschlegelDepartment of Biological Chemistry and Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Peter J BradleyDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. pbradley@ucla.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8481-0638

Funding

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIST32AI007323 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Peter John Bradley · 1988 to 2026
$8.6M
Functional Analysis of Novel Components of the Toxoplasma Inner Membrane ComplexR01AI123360 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Peter John Bradley · 2017 to 2026
$3.8M
Understanding Ubiquitin-dependent Regulation of Iron Metabolism using Mass SpectrometryR35GM153408 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI James Akira Wohlschlegel · 2024 to 2026
$1.2M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI123360NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007323NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM153408U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) R01AI123360U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) GM153408
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The apicoplast is an essential plastid organelle of apicomplexan parasites that supports indispensable metabolic pathways, and its successful inheritance during cell division is critical for parasite survival. Here, we identify two previously uncharacterized proteins, APP1 and APP2, as key components of the apicoplast segregation machinery in Toxoplasma gondii. We show that APP1 is an inner membrane complex associated protein that is expressed during daughter bud development and localizes near the centrosomes and apicoplast. Loss of APP1 results in apicoplast loss and missegregation and growth defects without perturbing centrosome duplication or other organelles. Deletion mapping reveals regions of APP1 that are essential for apicoplast inheritance. Proximity labeling of APP1 further identified APP2, which localizes adjacent to APP1. APP2 is also found at the poles and along the length of the elongating apicoplast during organelle partitioning. Disruption of APP2 phenocopies loss of APP1, leading to lethal apicoplast inheritance defects. Interdependence analyses suggest that APP1 anchors the segregation machinery at the daughter IMC while APP2 associates with the apicoplast membrane, together forming a bridge that links the apicoplast to the centrosome during endodyogeny. These findings uncover a previously unknown molecular architecture controlling apicoplast segregation and highlight new parasite-specific targets for therapeutic intervention.

Indexed as

ApicoplastsProtozoan ProteinsToxoplasmaCell DivisionCentrosomeMembrane ProteinsMembrane ProteinsProtozoan Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42834082
PMCPMC13639046

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.