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Concept
Flagellum
Summary
A flagellum (fləˈdʒɛləm; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are known as flagellates.
A microorganism may have from one to many flagella. A gram-negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori for example uses its multiple flagella to propel itself through the mucus lining to reach the stomach epithelium, where it may cause a gastric ulcer to develop. In some bacteria the flagellum can also function as a sensory organelle, being sensitive to wetness outside the cell.
Across the three domains of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota the flagellum has a different structure, protein composition, and mechanism of propulsion but shares the same function of providing motility. The Latin word flagellum means "whip" to describe its lash-like swimming motion. The flagellum in archaea is called the archaellum to note its difference from the bacterial flagellum.
Eukaryotic flagella and cilia are identical in structure but have different lengths and functions. Prokaryotic fimbriae and pili are smaller, and thinner appendages, with different functions.
The three types of flagella are bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic.
The flagella in eukaryotes have dynein and microtubules that move with a bending mechanism. Bacteria and archaea do not have dynein or microtubules in their flagella, and they move using a rotary mechanism.
Other differences among these three types are:
Bacterial flagella are helical filaments, each with a rotary motor at its base which can turn clockwise or counterclockwise. They provide two of several kinds of bacterial motility.
Archaeal flagella (archaella) are superficially similar to bacterial flagella in that it also has a rotary motor, but are different in many details and considered non-homologous.
Eukaryotic flagella—those of animal, plant, and protist cells—are complex cellular projections that lash back and forth.
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