During host cell infection by tachyzoites, does not play a role in tethering the parasitophorous vacuole to the host mitochondria. The MAF1 locus encodes multiple tandemly duplicated paralogs that vary in expression, sequence and copy number across T.gondii strains (PubMed:26920761). For instance, type I strain GT1 has 6 copies, type I strain RH has 4 copies, type II strains ME49 and PRU have 4 copies, type III strain VEG has 4 copies and type III strain CTG has only 2 copies (PubMed:26920761). The paralogs are classified into two groups, a and b and have probably arisen from the neofunctionalization of an ancestral MAF1 a gene (PubMed:26920761). They are characterized by the presence or absence of a repetitive stretch of 4 to 7 prolines followed by a serine (P(4:7)S), as well as differences in the amino acids surrounding the proline motif (PubMed:26920761). This motif is either completely missing (a and b0 paralogs) or repeated up to six times (b paralogs) (PubMed:26920761). cross the strains, transcript levels for the a paralogs are similar, however, in type II strain ME49, transcript levels for the b paralogs are low and no paralog MAF1 b1 protein is produced (PubMed:26920761). Paralogs differ in their ability to mediate host mitochondrial association (HMA), but also in their ability to confer a selective advantage during infection in a mouse model (PubMed:26920761). Tachyzoites from type I and III strains associate with host mitochondria (HMA(+)), while tachyzoites from type II strains, such as ME49, do not associate with host mitochondria (HMA(-)) due to a lack of MAF1 b1 expression (PubMed:26920761).