Mastigophora

Thesaurus

Noun

Mastigophora - protozoa having flagella class Flagellata, class Mastigophora, Flagellataphylum Protozoa, Protozoa - in some classifications considered a superphylum or a subkingdom; comprises flagellates; ciliates; sporozoans; amoebas; foraminifersflagellate, flagellate protozoan, flagellated protozoan, mastigophoran, mastigophore - a usually nonphotosynthetic free-living protozoan with whiplike appendages; some are pathogens of humans and other animalsCilioflagellata, Dinoflagellata, order Cilioflagellata, order Dinoflagellata - in some classifications considered a phylum of the kingdom Protista; in others included in the plant phylum Pyrrophytasubclass Zoomastigina, Zoomastigina - in some classifications considered a phylum of the kingdom Protista; holozoic or saprozoic flagellatesPhytomastigina, subclass Phytomastigina - plantlike flagellates containing chlorophyll; often considered unicellular algaeclass - (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more orders

Mastigophora

(măs'tĭgŏf`ərə), phylum of unicellular heterotrophic protozoans of the kingdom ProtistaProtista
or Protoctista
, in the five-kingdom system of classification, a kingdom comprising a variety of unicellular and some simple multinuclear and multicellular eukaryotic organisms.
..... Click the link for more information. . Most of the approximately 1,500 species of Mastigophora are propelled by one or more flagella, and members of the group are sometimes referred to as flagellates. Some have pseudopodia, temporary armlike protrusions of cytoplasm that help the cell move about and enwrap particles of food. Asexual reproduction by binary fission is the norm, but some species reproduce sexually by a process called syngamy, the fusion of two gametes produced by meiosismeiosis
, process of nuclear division in a living cell by which the number of chromosomes is reduced to half the original number. Meiosis occurs only in the process of gametogenesis, i.e., when the gametes, or sex cells (ovum and sperm), are being formed.
..... Click the link for more information. (i.e., fertilization).

Some parasitic members of the Mastigophora are the causative organisms of disease in humans and other animals. Trypanosomestrypanosome
, microscopic, one-celled protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma, typically living as an active parasite in the bloodstream of a vertebrate; hundreds of species are known. A trypanosome is long and pointed and possesses a flagellum.
..... Click the link for more information. , for example, are the cause of African sleeping sickness and Chagas' diseaseChagas' disease,
disease of South and Central America caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It usually affects children and young adults and is transmitted by the feces of infected insects, typically the assassin bug.
..... Click the link for more information. , and giardiasisgiardiasis
, infection of the small intestine by a protozoan, Giardia lamblia. Giardia, which was named after Alfred M. Giard, a French biologist, is spread via the fecal-oral route, most commonly by eating food contaminated by the unwashed hands of an infected
..... Click the link for more information. is caused by the mastigophoran Giardia lamblia.

Mastigophora

[‚mas·tə′gäf·ə·rə] (invertebrate zoology) A superclass of the Protozoa characterized by possession of flagella.

Mastigophora

[mas″tĭ-gof´o-rah] a subphylum of protozoa, including all those that have one or more flagella throughout most of their life cycle, and a simple, centrally located nucleus; many are parasitic in both invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans.

Mas·ti·goph·o·ra

(mas'ti-gof'ŏ-ră), The flagellates, a subphylum of Protozoa having one or more flagella, a single vesicular nucleus, and symmetric binary fission; sexual reproduction is unknown in many groups (for example, Volvox, Trypanosoma, Euglena). It consists of two classes: Phytomastigophorea (to which Euglena belongs), which contains chlorophyll and is therefore photosynthetic and holophytic (although this has secondarily been lost in some groups), and Zoomastigophorea (including Trypanosoma and Leishmania), which lacks chromatophores and is heterotrophic. [G. mastix (mastig-), a whip, + phoros, bearing]

Mastigophora

a group usually given the status of class (corresponding to flagellata) in older classifications, but in more modern classifications considered to be of kingdom-equivalent status. The group contains both holozoic and holophytic forms.

Mastigophora

Related to Mastigophora: Giardia lamblia

noun

Synonyms for Mastigophora

noun protozoa having flagella

Synonyms

class Flagellata
class Mastigophora
Flagellata

Related Words

phylum Protozoa
Protozoa
flagellate
flagellate protozoan
flagellated protozoan
mastigophoran
mastigophore
Cilioflagellata
Dinoflagellata
order Cilioflagellata
order Dinoflagellata
subclass Zoomastigina
Zoomastigina
Phytomastigina
subclass Phytomastigina
class