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).