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Extended Data Fig. 1 | Erythrocytic cycle of malaria parasites. Illustration of
the erythrocytic (RBC) stage of the malaria parasite. a, The merozoites
undergo repeated rounds of asexual multiplication, progressing through ring,
trophozoite and schizont stages. 1, The cycle starts when merozoites contact,
attach and successfully invade RBCs in the circulation. The invasion period
lasts for less than a minute and we are only able to follow the dynamics of such a
fast event with real-time live microscopy^11 ,^27. The merozoite has a slightly
ovoidal shape of 1 μm in diameter and is adapted for invasion of RBCs. The
apical end of the parasite contains secretory organelles called rhoptries and
micronemes that release proteins to help the merozoite’s internalization. In
the host RBC, the parasite develops and multiplies, digesting haemoglobin,
protected from immune attack. In the case of P. falciparum, the erythrocytic
cycle lasts about 48 h, and infected cells progress from the ring stage (2; the
first 16 h) through the trophozoite stage (3; around 16–36 h) and, finally to the
schizont phase (4; a few hours). 5, The infected schizont then ruptures,
releasing 15–30 daughter merozoites ready to infect new nearby RBCs. 6, In
each cycle, less than 10% of parasites develop into the sexual form of the
parasite, called gametocytes. b, Detailed illustration of parasite invasion into
the RBC (1; described further in the Methods), involving the pre-invasion phase
(contact, merozoite reorientation triggering RBC membrane deformation, and
tight attachment of the merozoite to the RBC membrane), the invasion phase
(initiation of invasion, penetration, complete internalization of the merozoite,
and resealing of the RBC membrane), and the echinocytosis phase (formation
of the echinocyte form of the RBC). Icons adapted from ©biorender.com.