An invasion assay in which unmodified and BSG KO BEL-A-derived reticulocytes were incubated with schizonts at high multiplicity of infection resulted in ~ 60% parasitemia in unedited cells, with no rings observed in BSG KO reticulocytes, confirming the phenotype even under extreme invasive pressure (Supplementary Fig. 9). Here, BSG is linked to parasitic infectious disease.