title: Morphogenesis of the flagellum and its associated structures in Leishmania.
abstract: Electron microscopic study of the flagellar apparatus of promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania revealed major differences. Promastigotes were characterized by possessing a paraxial rod with a well developed lattice-like complex alongside the emerging axoneme enclosed within the flagellar sheath. The latter was anchored to the protozoan plasma membrane by focal or spot-like macular desmosomes at the emergence site. With cytodifferentiation to amastigotes there was a notable reduction in the axonemal size and its microtubular elements, absence of paraxial rod and a remarkable binding of the endocellular flagellum to its pocket through dense zonular desmosomal adhesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Azab
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Makhlouf
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abd-Elmawla
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005407:Flagella / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron