Plasmodium RON12 localizes to the rhoptry body in sporozoites

Invasion of host cells by apicomplexan parasites is mediated by proteins released from microneme, rhoptry, and dense granule secretory organelles located at the apical end of parasite invasive forms. Microneme secreted proteins establish interactions with host cell receptors and induce exocytosis of the rhoptry organelle. Rhoptry proteins are involved in target cell invasion as well as the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole in which parasites reside during development within the host cell. In Plasmodium merozoites, the rhoptry neck protein (RON) complex consists of RON2, RON4, and RON5, and interacts with apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) as a critical structure of the invasion moving junction. PfRON12 is known to localize to the rhoptry neck of merozoites, but its function remains obscure. The roles of RON proteins are largely unknown in sporozoites, the second invasive form of Plasmodium which possesses a conserved apical end secretory structure. Here, we confirm that RON12 is expressed in the rhoptry neck of merozoites in rodent malaria parasites, whereas in contrast we show that RON12 is localized to the rhoptry body in sporozoites. Phenotypic analysis of Plasmodium berghei ron12-disrupted mutants revealed that RON12 is dispensable for sporogony, invasion of mosquito salivary glands and mouse hepatocytes, and development in hepatocytes.