Question

Differentiate whiplash flagellum from a tinsel flagellum

Answer 1

Hint: Whiplash flagellum is known as acronematic flagella and the tinsel flagellum is also known as pantonematic flagellum. One of these bears has hair-like structures known as flimmer. They are found in fungal spores.

Complete answer:

The differences between whiplash flagellum and the tinsel flagellum are in their structures. Whiplash flagellum has a smooth flagellar surface whereas the tinsel flagellum possesses hair-like projections that project out of the flagellar surface. The differences are summarized in the table below:

Whiplash Flagellum	Tinsel Flagellum
The Flagellar surface is smooth	The Flagellar surface bears hair-like projections
The flagella may have a narrow tip or blunt tip	The tip is not narrow, it is mostly covered by hairs
It is also known as acronematic or peitchgeisal flagellum	It is also known as pantonematic or flimmergeisel flagellum
Flagella is unbranched and has a 90-degree bend at the ends	Flagella are branched and no 90-degree bend is present.
Mastigonemes are absent	Mastigonemes are present
During the flagellar movement, the bent end shows back and forth whipping movement and therefore these flagella are known as whiplash flagella	The tinsel flagellum has numerous hair-like structures which look similar to the tinsels of aluminum Christmas tree and therefore they are known as a tinsel flagellum

 

Additional Information:
The structure of eukaryotic flagella has the following component:
-Basal body
-Rootlets
-Basal Plate
-Shaft
The shaft of the flagella has three parts:
-The membrane covering which has been derived from the plasmalemma
-Matrix
-Axoneme

Note: The important point to remember is that these types of flagellar structures are found in the zoospores of fungi. It is also possible that a single spore can possess both tinsel and whiplash-type of flagella. Whiplash flagella can be further divided into two types one with a blunt end and the other with a non-blunt end. Whiplash flagellum is also known as a naked flagellum.