- Undulipodium
An undulipodium or 9+2 organelle is an extracellular projection of a
eukaryotic cell containing amicrotubule array. Bothflagella andcilia are considered undulipodia and are similar structurally, however each differs functionally. Flagella use a whip-like action to create movement of the whole cell, such as the movement of sperm in the reproductive tract, and also create water movement as in thechoanocyte s ofsponge s. Cilia are more numerous, move in a waving action, and are responsible for movement in organisms such asciliates andPlatyhelminthes , but also move extracellular substances in animals, such as the ciliary escalator found in the respiratory tract and the corona ofrotifer s. Cilia may also function as sensory organs.Undulipodia are an extension of the
cell membrane containing bothcytoplasm and a regular arrangement of microtubules known as anaxoneme . At the base of the extension lies a structure called the "kinetosome" or "basal body " which is attached viamotor protein s to the microtubules. The kinetosome mediates movement through a chemical reaction, causing the microtubules to slide against one another and the whole structure to bend.
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