Microorganism movement

[rayden001]

Reading up on prokaryotes recently, I discovered that organisms can move with just one flagellum but they need several cilia to move. Why? Can organisms move with just one cilium?

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[LittleRocker]

This isn't the most technical answer, but cilia are like tiny little hairs that work together like oars to propel the bacterium. A single cilium isn't large or powerful enough to propel on its own. A flagellum is more like a single tail that is capable of propelling on its own (think sperm), but a cell can have more than just one flagellum in different arrangements.

 

[rayden001]

Is it due to the difference in their length?

 

[LittleRocker]

yes cilia are much much smaller than flagella

 

[JoeC]

To elaborate further, think of cilia like legs on a centipede. Now think of a centipede with one leg: it's going in very slow circles.

As for a flagellum, it virtually is a propellor, like a screw on a large ship.

 

[coffeebythelake]

Cilia are more like oars, and flagella are more like propellors. A single oar will cause movement around in circles. A single propellor will do its job quite nicely.