Flagellar hairs of Tetraselmis (Prasinophyceae): ultrastructural types and intrageneric variation

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Abstract
Flagellar hairs of 30 strains of Tetraselmis were studied by whole mount electron microscopy and shown to have a complex ultrastructure which is completely conserved within each strain. However, the ultrastructural variation of flagellar hairs between strains is sufficient to distinguish most strains from one another. Generally, flagellar hairs consist of three parts: a short proximal filament, which anchors the hair to the flagellum, a central, tubular shaft and a strain-specific number of distal, globular subunits in linear arrangement. Two additional structures are not present in all strains investigated: (1) a transition zone can be inserted at the distal end of the shaft, which consists of 1 to 9 segments each with a proximal region of lower electron density; (2) the flagellar hair can extend distally into a thin filament of considerable length, which is visible only in negative contrast. Based mainly on these two characters, flagellar hairs of the Tetraselmis strains studied can be classified into four major types.

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