The Mastigont system is a series of structures found in several
Protists such as thrichomonads and
amoebae
An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopo ...
. It is formed by the
basal bodies
A basal body (synonymous with basal granule, kinetosome, and in older cytological literature with blepharoplast) is a protein structure found at the base of a eukaryotic undulipodium (cilium or flagellum). The basal body was named by Theodor W ...
and several other structures composed of
fibril
Fibrils (from the Latin ''fibra'') are structural biological materials found in nearly all living organisms. Not to be confused with fibers or filaments, fibrils tend to have diameters ranging from 10-100 nanometers (whereas fibers are micro ...
s. Their function is not fully understood.
The system is studied and visualised mainly through techniques such as plasma membrane extraction, high-voltage electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, the cell-sandwich technique, freeze-etching, and
immunocytochemistry
Immunocytochemistry (ICC) is a common laboratory technique that is used to anatomically visualize the localization of a specific protein or antigen in cells by use of a specific primary antibody that binds to it. The primary antibody allows visu ...
.
Composition
The main structures that compose the Mastigont system include:
[McKhann, Heather I., and Lorraine Olendzenski, eds. Illustrated Glossary of Protoctista: Vocabulary of the Algae, Apicomplexa, Ciliates, Foraminifera, Microspora, Water Molds, Slime Molds, and the Other Protoctists. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 1993.]
*the ''pelta-axostyle'' system, made of
microtubules; it supports the cell axis and is involved in
karyokinesis
In cell biology, mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division by mitosis gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the total number of chromosomes is maintai ...
. The pelta is a microtubular structure that holds the flagellar canal.
*The ''costa'', a rootlet; it supports flagellar movements and provides an anchoring system for the nucleus and Golgi.
*The ''parabasal and sigmoid filaments'';
*Other filaments.
References
Further reading
*Poirier, Thomas P., S. C. Holt, and B. M. Honigberg. "Fine structure of the mastigont system in Trichomonas tenax (Zoomastigophorea: Trichomonadida)." ''Transactions of the American Microscopical Society'' (1990): 342-351.
*de Souza, Wanderley. "Structures and Organelles in Pathogenic Protists." ''Molecular Microbiology'' 5 (2007).
*
Margulis, Lynn, and Michael J. Chapman. ''Kingdoms and domains: An illustrated guide to the phyla of life on Earth''. Academic Press, 2009.
*Brugerolle, G (1991), Flagellar and cytoskeletal systems in amitochondriate flagellates: Archamoeba, Metamonada and Parabasala. ''Protoplasma'' 164: 70–90.
Organelles
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