Fig 1. GiMlf is a structurally and evolutionarily conserved protein whose homologs are present among the majority of eukaryotic supergroups.

(A) Phylogenetic tree of GiMlf homologs generated by IQ-TREE based on a MAFFT alignment after trimming with TrimAI (discarded positions with >30% missing data). Major eukaryotic supergroups are highlighted by colors (Obazoa—purple, Excavata–blue, Archeaplastida–green, Cryptista—pink, Haptista–orange, SAR–red). The arrowhead labels the position of GiMlf within the tree. Two paralogs Mlf1 and Mlf2 are recognized within Metazoa. The support values and protein identifiers can be found in S1 Fig. (B) Comparison of the tertiary structure of Mlf homologs as predicted by AlphaFold2. Alpha-helices are shown in blue and beta-sheets in yellow, disordered regions are depicted as grey lines.