Extended Data Fig. 4: Various fusion states of the P. falciparum rhoptries.

(a–c) 2-D slices through tomograms of apical ends showing the absence of the apical vesicle at the rhoptry tips and either bulging of one rhoptry towards the other (a, b) or twisting of the rhoptries (c). Dashed orange lines in panel c denote the portion of the rhoptry neck that is out of view. A mesh of electron-dense material (green) can be observed between rhoptries (orange) that display bulging towards the other. One rhoptry is docked directly at the RSA (purple). (d, e) Examples in which the two rhoptries are fused together and docked directly at the RSA. (f, g) Examples in which only one, very large rhoptry with no discernable neck region was observed and docked directly at the RSA. Scale bars = 100 nm.