AlphaFold-Multimer predicts Tmem81 as a fertilization factor

AI system

System: AlphaFold-Multimer complex-prediction screen
Model: AlphaFold-Multimer.
Release: Exact release not established.
Application developer: DeepMind (AlphaFold-Multimer)
Role: The model predicted a complex of proteins that researchers then tested experimentally.
Configuration: Not assessed
Inputs and outputs: Not assessed
Autonomy: Not assessed
Workflow: An AlphaFold-Multimer screen of candidate sperm protein complexes. Knockout models in zebrafish and mice to test the prediction. Biochemical interaction assays, including the human orthologues.
Human oversight: Not assessed
Relation to AI: AlphaFold-Multimer generated the hypothesis that Tmem81 belongs to a trimeric complex with Izumo1 and Spaca6. The functional claim rests on the same laboratory's wet-lab work: zebrafish and mouse knockouts, zebrafish sperm interaction assays, and human orthologue interaction in vitro.
AI contribution: AlphaFold-Multimer generated the hypothesis that Tmem81 belongs to a trimeric complex with Izumo1 and Spaca6. The functional claim rests on the same laboratory's wet-lab work: zebrafish and mouse knockouts, zebrafish sperm interaction assays, and human orthologue interaction in vitro.

Outcome identifiers: Not assessed
Benefit: An AlphaFold-Multimer screen predicted a trimeric sperm complex; the lab then showed Tmem81 is essential for male fertility in zebrafish and mice.
Category: Improved Knowledge Discovery
Status: Not assessed
Beneficiary groups: Organizations. Society.
Beneficiaries: Not assessed
Reach: Not assessed
Distribution and access: Not assessed
Duration: Not assessed
Expected?: Yes
Costs and harms: Not assessed

Participants: Developer: DeepMind (AlphaFold-Multimer). Operator: Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (Pauli lab) and collaborators.
Jurisdictions: Benefit: Vienna, Austria. Developer: United Kingdom. Operator: Austria.
Ownership and control: Not assessed
Dependencies: Not assessed
Cross-border connections: Not assessed
Geopolitical implications: Not assessed

Conditions for replication: Candidate complexes predicted from vertebrate sperm protein sequences. Zebrafish and mouse knockout models available. Biochemical interaction assays for orthologue validation.
Replication attempts: Not assessed
Later findings: No later development found.
Availability: Not assessed
Institutional decision: Not assessed
Grounds: Not assessed
Action and result: Not assessed
Success criterion: Not assessed

Assessed benefits: Organizations. Society.
Depth: Organizations: 2. Society: 2.
Reasons: Organizations: The AI screen handed the laboratory a specific, testable candidate (Tmem81) that it then validated genetically and biochemically, a material result for that research group. Society: Identification of a conserved vertebrate fertilization factor essential for male fertility in two species advances a long-standing open question. The source demonstrates no clinical application yet.
Observed or intended: Not assessed
Rubric: Not assessed
Assessor and date: Not assessed
Alternative assessments: Not assessed
Fill: The deployer's account

Kind: Not assessed
Related entries: Not assessed
Field: Reproductive and molecular biology.
Purpose: Predict protein-protein complexes in order to find missing components of the vertebrate sperm-egg interaction machinery.
Dates: Date basis unassessed: 2024 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
Stage: Not assessed
Version: SHA-256: f280005d150b…