Mastigonema

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Mastigonemata (Germanized plural also Mastigonemen ; from ancient Greek μάστιξ mástix "whip, flagellum", genitive μάστιγος mástigos ) are the hair-like flickering on the flagella of some unicellular eukaryotic creatures. They turn the scourges occupied with them into draft scourges.

Flagella of this expression are pinnate-like covered with the mastigonemes (e.g. in the Cryptophyceae and Heterokontae ). The latter have two flagella of unequal length, of which only the longer of the two flagella, the ciliated flagellus , is covered with mastigonemen. The shorter, smooth scourge is called the drag scourge .

Mastigonemen consist of a base, shaft and one to several terminal thin hairs. They are formed by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and consist of glycoprotein .

Mastigonemen are only found on the flagella of some unicellular algae and protozoa , but not on the flagellated cells of other living things. The mastigonemes of the unicellular algae differ from those of the protozoa by the tubular structure of their shaft. The mastigonemes can also be used for systematic classification within the individual groups: Some flagella are provided with only one row of flickers ( stichonematic ), others with two rows ( pantonematic ).