Figure 1.

Schematic of invasion ligands strictly from the Erythrocyte Binding Like (EBL) and Reticulocyte binding Homologue (RH) families, and the erythrocyte receptors to which they bind, as far as they are known, visually organized to show whether they invade RBCs by the sialic acid dependent or independent pathways. Invasion ligands from the EBL and RH families are located at the apical end of merozoites prior to invasion within the micronemes and rhoptries, respectively. The only ligand essential for invasion identified so far is RH5, which is not anchored directly itself to the merozoite surface and binds to basigin (circled). GP – glycpophorin; ‘E’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’ are unidentified receptors but their enzymatic profiles have been established; CR1 – complement receptor 1; BSG - basigin.