Flagellum

A flagellum (plural, flagella) is a whip-like organelle that many unicellular organisms, and some multicellular ones, use to move about. They may also be involved in other processes. The name actually covers three different structures, found in each of the three domains. Bacterial flagella are helical filaments that rotate like screws. Archaeal flagella are superficially similar, 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. Sometimes the last are called cilia or undulipodia to emphasize their distinctiveness.

Related Topics:
Organelle - Bacteria - Archaea - Eukaryotic - Cilia

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