A merozoite-specific 22-kDa rhoptry protein of the coccidium Eimeria nieschulzi (Sporozoa, Coccidia) is exocytosed in the parasitophorous vacuole upon host cell invasion.

A monoclonal antibody (Mab D12A4) was used to follow the genesis and fate of rhoptries from early first-generation merogony through second-generation merozoites of the rat coccidium Eimeria nieschulzi. The epitope recognized by Mab D12A4 belongs to a 22-kDa protein which can be localized first in developing meronts 25 h post-infection. Early rhoptries appear as distinct granules in the cytoplasm of developing meronts and elongate into mature organelles before merozoite release. The 22-kDa protein is found in the parasitophorous vacuole after host cell invasion. Western blotting and immunofluorescence showed that the 22-kDa rhoptry protein is expressed in schizonts and merozoites but not in sporozoites.