Piston (subcellular Structure)
A piston (also known as a dart, prod, or tentacle) is a complex contractile organelle found in some dinoflagellates, namely the ''Erythropsidinium'' and ''Greuetodinium'' genera of the family Warnowiaceae. This group is also well known for possessing other unusually complex subcellular structures such as the ocelloid and nematocyst (dinoflagellate), nematocyst. Observations of ''Erythropsidinium'' samples reveal that the length of the piston is highly variable across specimens. The piston is known to be capable of repetitive and dramatic contractile motion; although its function is unknown, roles in locomotion, prey capture, and defense have been suggested. References Organelles {{microbiology-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bmc Evol Bio Hoppenrath Erythropsidinium Ocelloid Piston Fig1r
BMC may refer to: Business and organizations * Beard Miller Company, a US public accounting firm * BioMed Central, a UK-based scientific publisher * BMC Software, an American business service management software vendor * BMC Switzerland, a Swiss bicycle products manufacturer and sponsor of professional cycling * BMC (Turkey), a Turkish vehicle manufacturer * Boston Micromachines Corporation, a manufacturer of microelectromechanical deformable mirrors * Brega Marketing Company, a Libyan company for marketing petroleum and related products * British Motor Corporation, a UK vehicle company ** British Motor Corporation (Australia), the Australian arm of the British Motor Corporation * British Mountaineering Council * Bulk mail center * Burma Muslim Congress, a former political party in Myanmar * Business Model Canvas a canvas diagram invented by Alexander Osterwalder * Buy Me a Coffee, an American crowdfunding company Education * Bangalore Medical College * Belfast Metropolitan College ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function. The name ''organelle'' comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as organs are to the body, hence ''organelle,'' the suffix ''-elle'' being a diminutive. Organelles are either separately enclosed within their own lipid bilayers (also called membrane-bound organelles) or are spatially distinct functional units without a surrounding lipid bilayer (non-membrane bound organelles). Although most organelles are functional units within cells, some function units that extend outside of cells are often termed organelles, such as cilia, the flagellum and archaellum, and the trichocyst. Organelles are identified by microscopy, and can also be purified by cell fractionation. There are many types of organelles, particularly in eukaryotic cells. They include structures that make up the endomembrane system (such as the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, and G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dinoflagellate
The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are mostly marine plankton, but they also are common in freshwater habitats. Their populations vary with sea surface temperature, salinity, and depth. Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey (phagotrophy and myzocytosis). In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates are one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although substantially smaller than diatoms. Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other dinoflagellates are unpigmented predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic (for example, ''Oodinium'' and ''Pfiesteria''). Some dinoflagellates pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Erythropsidinium
''Erythropsidinium'' (formerly ''Erythropsis'') is a genus of dinoflagellates (a type of unicellular eukaryote) of the family Warnowiaceae. Characteristics ''Erythropsidinium'' cells are a relatively large by dinoflagellate standards (50-120μm in longest dimension) and possess two flagella and two unusual organelles, the ocelloid and the piston (subcellular structure), piston. The ocelloid is light-responsive structure organized similarly to a multicellular organism's eye, considered a synapomorphic character for the Warnowiaceae; cells typically contain one ocelloid but occasional examples have been reported of cells containing two, without other indications of ongoing cell division. The piston (subcellular structure), piston is a long contractile structure protruding from the cell body, which is highly variable in length and morphology, and may contain prominent nodules along its length. As with the ocelloid, most cells possess a single piston, but in some cases specimens have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus '' Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should clearly demons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Warnowiaceae
The Warnowiaceae are a family of athecate dinoflagellates (a diverse group of unicellular eukaryotes). Members of the family are known as warnowiids. The family is best known for a light-sensitive subcellular structure known as the ocelloid, a highly complex arrangement of organelles with a structure directly analogous to the eyes of multicellular organisms. The ocelloid has been shown to be composed of multiple types of endosymbionts, namely mitochondria and at least one type of plastid. Habitat and life cycle Warnowiids are found in marine plankton but are very rare in most plankton samples. Little is known about their life histories because they cannot be cultured in the laboratory, and samples obtained from the natural environment do not survive well under laboratory conditions. Studies of wild samples have found evidence of distinctive structures called trichocysts in warnowiid cell vacuoles, suggesting that their prey might be other dinoflagellates. Despite the complexity o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ocelloid
An ocelloid is a subcellular structure found in the family Warnowiaceae (warnowiids), which are members of a group of unicellular organisms known as dinoflagellates. The ocelloid is analogous in structure and function to the eyes of multicellular organisms, which focus, process and detect light. The ocelloid is much more complex than the eyespot, a light-sensitive structure also found in unicellular organisms, and is in fact one of the most complex known subcellular structures. It has been described as a striking example of convergent evolution. History The ocelloid was originally described in 1884. Early descriptions were met with skepticism and hypothesized to represent the eye of a multicellular organism coincidentally engulfed by a single-celled organism. The possibility that it had an evolutionary relationship to plastids had been considered at least since the 1970s, although until the 2010s direct evidence was scarce. Structure Ocelloids contain subcomponents analogou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nematocyst (dinoflagellate)
A nematocyst is a subcellular structure or organelle containing extrusive filaments found in two families of theca, athecate dinoflagellates (a group of unicellular eukaryotes), the Warnowiaceae and Polykrikaceae. It is distinct from the similar subcellular structures found in the cnidocyte cells of cnidarians, a group of multicellular organisms including jellyfish and corals; such structures are also often called nematocysts (alternatively, ''cnidocysts'' or ''cnidae''), and cnidocytes are sometimes referred to as nematocytes. It is unclear whether the relationship between dinoflagellate and cnidarian nematocysts is a case of convergent evolution or common descent, although molecular evidence has been interpreted as supporting an endosymbiotic origin for cnidarian nematocysts. In polykrikoids the nematocyst is found associated with another extrusive organelle called the taeniocyst, a complex that has been described as synapomorphic for the genus (biology), genus ''Polykrikos''. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |