Flagellum: Difference between revisions
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<gallery> | |||
File:Difference_Between_Prokaryote_and_Eukaryote_Flagella.svg|Difference Between Prokaryote and Eukaryote Flagella | |||
File:Flagellar_Motor_Assembly.jpg|Flagellar Motor Assembly | |||
File:Eukarya_Flagella.svg|Eukarya Flagella | |||
File:Eukaryotic_flagellum.svg|Eukaryotic Flagellum | |||
File:Chlamydomonas_TEM_09.jpg|Chlamydomonas TEM 09 | |||
File:Chlamydomonas_TEM_17.jpg|Chlamydomonas TEM 17 | |||
File:Flagellum-beating.svg|Flagellum Beating | |||
File:EMpylori.jpg|EMpylori | |||
File:Physical_model_of_a_bacterial_flagellum.jpg|Physical Model of a Bacterial Flagellum | |||
</gallery> | |||
Latest revision as of 12:21, 18 February 2025
Flagellum is a whip-like structure that allows a cell to move. They are found in all three domains of the cellular world: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
Structure[edit]
In bacteria, the flagellum is a complex rotating structure driven by a molecular motor at the base. In eukaryotes, it is a complex bending structure driven by molecular motors that slide microtubules.
Function[edit]
Flagella are primarily used for cell movement. They are not fast enough to allow bacteria and sperm to swim against a current, but they can allow a cell to move in a particular direction in a liquid medium.
Types[edit]
There are three types of flagella: bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic.
Bacterial[edit]
The bacterial flagellum is made up of the protein flagellin. Its shape is a 20 nanometer-thick hollow tube. It is helical and has a sharp bend just outside the outer membrane; this "hook" allows the axis of the helix to point directly away from the cell.
Archaeal[edit]
Archaeal flagella are a different structure which has a similar function and overall appearance to bacterial flagella, but are not homologous.
Eukaryotic[edit]
Eukaryotic flagella are complex cellular projections that lash back and forth. Unlike bacterial flagella, they are composed of a bundle of nine fused pairs of microtubule doublets surrounding two central single microtubules.
