Extrusive organelle
Extrusive organelle
Research domain
Parasitology
Predation
Taxonomy
Taxonomic markers
Apicomplexa
Dinophyceae
Perkinsozoa
Syndiniales
Definition
Diverse eukaryotic organelles that dock beneath the plasma membrane of cells and expel their contents in response to mechanical, chemical or electrical stimuli. The contents of extrusive organelles range from amorphous mucilage-like material to highly organized three-dimensional frameworks that rapidly increase in size when expelled (e.g. ejectisomes, muciferous bodies, nematocysts, rhoptries and trichocysts).