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A flagellum (/ f l ə ˈ dʒ ɛ l əm /; pl.: flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores , and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility.
Flagella in eukaryotes are supported by microtubules in a characteristic arrangement, with nine fused pairs surrounding two central singlets. These arise from a basal body. In some flagellates, flagella direct food into a cytostome or mouth, where food is ingested. Flagella role in classifying eukaryotes.
A common characteristic of opisthokonts is that flagellate cells, such as the sperm of most animals and the spores of the chytrid fungi, propel themselves with a single posterior flagellum. It is this feature that gives the group its name. In contrast, flagellate cells in other eukaryote groups propel themselves with one or more anterior ...
The flagellum (plural, flagella; a group of flagella is called a tuft) is a helical, thin and long appendage attached to the cell surface by one of its ends, performing a rotational motion to push or pull the cell.
Schematic representation of a Euglena cell with red eyespot (9) Schematic representation of a Chlamydomonas cell with chloroplast eyespot (4). The eyespot apparatus (or stigma) is a photoreceptive organelle found in the flagellate or (motile) cells of green algae and other unicellular photosynthetic organisms such as euglenids.
Schematic of the eukaryotic flagellum. 1-axoneme, 2-cell membrane, 3-IFT (Intraflagellar transport), 4-Basal body, 5-Cross section of flagellum, 6-Triplets of microtubules of basal body. Longitudinal section through the flagella area in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In the cell apex is the basal body that is the anchoring site for a flagellum.
Whiplash flagella are straight, to power the zoospore through its medium. Also, the "default" zoospore only has the propelling, whiplash flagella. Both tinsel and whiplash flagella beat in a sinusoidal wave pattern, but when both are present, the tinsel beats in the opposite direction of the whiplash, to give two axes of control of motility.
The evolution of flagella is of great interest to biologists because the three known varieties of flagella – (eukaryotic, bacterial, and archaeal) each represent a sophisticated cellular structure that requires the interaction of many different systems.