flagella
Bacteria's swimming tails
Flagella are whip-like appendages that propel microscopic organisms through liquid.
Bacteria use them to swim toward nutrients or away from threats.
Sperm cells have flagella—the familiar tail that drives them forward.
The singular is flagellum.
The word shares roots with flagellate, to whip.
Strike or bind
- tailRear animal appendage
- appendageProjecting body part
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- threadlikeResembling thin strands
hairlike · whiplike · slender · flexible · elongated · strand · tendril
Hollow cellular protein structures
- ciliumMotile cell appendage
- tubulinMicrotubule protein component
- cytoskeletonInternal protein support structure
- filamentVery thin thread
hook · rotor · stator · organelle · cytoplasm · membrane · prokaryote · eukaryote
Force driving movement forward
- swimmingLocomotion through water
- undulationRhythmic rise and fall
- locomotionAbility to travel independently
- chemotaxisMovement toward chemical cues
motility · rotation · beating · waveform · thrust · twitching · streaming · gliding
Single-celled prokaryotic life
- protozoaSingle-celled eukaryotic organisms
- spirochetesCoiled, motile bacteria
- giardiaWaterborne intestinal parasite
- salmonellaFoodborne bacterial illness
vibrio · algae · chlamydomonas · euglena · flagellates · cilia · microorganism · pathogen
lash
Strike or bind
- tailRear animal appendage
- appendageProjecting body part
- projectionSomething that extends outward
threadlike · hairlike · whiplike · slender · flexible · elongated · strand · tendril
microtubules
Hollow cellular protein structures
- ciliumMotile cell appendage
- tubulinMicrotubule protein component
- cytoskeletonInternal protein support structure
filament · hook · rotor · stator · organelle · cytoplasm · membrane · prokaryote · eukaryote · assembly
propulsion
Force driving movement forward
- swimmingLocomotion through water
- undulationRhythmic rise and fall
- locomotionAbility to travel independently
chemotaxis · motility · rotation · beating · waveform · thrust · twitching · streaming · gliding · tumbling
bacterium
Single-celled prokaryotic life
- protozoaSingle-celled eukaryotic organisms
- spirochetesCoiled, motile bacteria
- giardiaWaterborne intestinal parasite
salmonella · vibrio · algae · chlamydomonas · euglena · flagellates · cilia · microorganism · pathogen
- cellscells, blood cell, cell theory, nerve cell, red blood cell
- appendagesfins, fin, flipper, flippers, tail
- microbiologybacteria, bacterium, microbe, microbes, microorganisms
- Microscale Biologycells, DNA, RNA, proteins, enzymes
- Microscopicbacterium, virus, amoeba, paramecium, microbe
- cell motilityactin, microtubule, cytoskeleton, cilia, chemotaxis