Compare Eukaryotic and Bacterial Flagella
A flagellum may look similar in function while differing sharply in cellular construction.
Living-system questions are solved by matching a structure or organism to its function, process and stated condition.
Compare the internal plan
Eukaryotic flagella such as those of Chlamydomonas, Trypanosoma and Ulothrix gametes have a membrane-bound 9+2 microtubule axoneme. Bacterial flagella, including Vibrio, are built from flagellin and have a basal body, hook and filament, not a 9+2 axoneme.
Classify cells by walls and organelles
A cell wall alone does not make a cell plant-like. A prokaryote such as E. coli has a wall but lacks an ER, nucleus, and mitochondria. A plant cell has a wall and membrane-bound organelles; an animal/protist cell lacks the wall but retains those organelles. Use the whole feature set, not one label.
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- ✓Eukaryotic cilia/flagella: membrane-bound 9+2 microtubules.
- ✓Bacterial flagella: flagellin filament, hook and basal body.
Similar movement does not mean the same ultrastructure.
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