Back Extrusoma Catalan Extruzom Czech Extrusom German Extrusoma Spanish Extrusome French Extrusoma Galician Estrusoma Italian Extrussoma Portuguese Экструсома Russian
Extrusomes are membrane-bound organelles found in eukaryotic cells that are capable of discharging material contained within to the exterior of the cell. Due to the diversity in structure and function, it is unlikely that different types of extrusomes are homologous.
Some notable extrusomes include mucocysts, which discharge a mucous mass sometimes used in cyst formation, and trichocysts, which discharge a fibrous rod.[1] Nematocysts, the stinging structure found in Cnidarian animals, could be considered extrusomes as well, though those functions are performed by differentiated cells rather than organelles. Other extrusomes include the ancoracyst, a specialized extrusome found in the Provoran eukaryote Ancoracysta twista used to immobilize prey.[2]
Extrusomes and their functions are currently not well understood; many of their supposed functions are in doubt.
- ^ Lynn, Denis H. (2008). The ciliated protozoa: characterization, classification, and guide to the literature. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-8238-2.
- ^ Janouškovec, Jan; Tikhonenkov, Denis V.; Burki, Fabien; Howe, Alexis T.; Rohwer, Forest L.; Mylnikov, Alexander P.; Keeling, Patrick J. (2017-12-04). "A New Lineage of Eukaryotes Illuminates Early Mitochondrial Genome Reduction". Current Biology. 27 (23): 3717–3724.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.051. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 29174886.