Rhoptry

A rhoptry is a specialized secretory organelle. They are club-shaped organelles connected by thin necks to the extreme apical pole of the parasite. These organelles, like micronemes, are characteristic of the motile stages of Apicomplexa protozoans. They can vary in number and shape and contain numerous enzymes that are released during the penetration process. The proteins they contain are important in the interaction between the host and the parasite.[1]

References

  1. ^ Bradley, Peter J; Chris Ward, Stephen J. Cheng, David L. Alexander, Susan Coller, Graham H. Coombs, Joe Dan Dunn, David J. Ferguson, Sanya J. Sanderson, Jonathan M. Wastling and John C. Boothroyd (October 7, 2005). "Proteomic Analysis of Rhoptry Organelles Reveals Many Novel Constituents for Host-Parasite Interactions in Toxoplasma gondii". J. Biol. Chem. 280 (40): 34245–34258. doi:10.1074/jbc.M504158200. PMID 16002398. http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/M504158200v1. Retrieved 29 May 2009.