Symbiosis (pl. symbioses) means living together. It describes close and long-term relationships between different species. The term was used by Anton de Bary in 1879, as "the living together of unlike organisms".
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Symbiosis (pl. symbioses) means living together. It describes close and long-term relationships between different species. The term was used by Anton de Bary in 1879, as "the living together of unlike organisms".
A symbiont is an organism living in a relationship with another species in which one or both get benefits. When one species lives inside another species, or a microscopic symbiont lives inside the cells of a host, it is called an endosymbiont.
The relevance of symbiosis is its frequency and its evolutionary significance. There appear to be no higher plants or animals without symbionts. Those symbionts are of great importance to the larger organisms, who in most cases would be unable to live as they do without their symbionts. Mycorrhiza in higher plants, and gut flora in insects and vertebrates are examples. Humans are no exception.
Furthermore, most of these associations are between organisms not just from different species, but from different kingdoms. And lastly, the cells of all eukaryotes contain organelles which are descendants of symbiotic relationships which began at least a billion years ago. Mitochondria and plastids are examples. The conclusion must be that symbiosis has been highly significant in the evolutio