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Prokaryotic Surface Structures

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State

Some prokaryotes carry a capsule for surface attachment, flagella for locomotion, and pili or fimbriae for genetic exchange or host attachment.

Show

A pilus lets one bacterium transfer genetic material to another through direct contact, a process called conjugation.

Watch for

A flagellum drives movement; a pilus exchanges material — the two structures are easy to confuse but serve entirely different functions.