endosymbiont

American  

[en-doh-sim-bee-ont, -bahy-] / ˌɛn doʊˈsɪm biˌɒnt, -baɪ- /

Also endosymbiote

noun

1. a symbiont that lives within the body of the host.

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Etymology

Origin of endosymbiont

First recorded in 1935–40; endo- + symbiont

Example Sentences

All those foreign genes could have arrived in a single package with the endosymbiont that evolved into the mitochondrion.

From Scientific American • Jun. 13, 2022

This occurs when one species is taken inside the cytoplasm of another species, which ultimately results in a genome consisting of genes from both the endosymbiont and the host.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Though her paper was rejected by as many as 10 journals before it was published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, Margulis’ endosymbiont theory for the origin of eukaryotic cells is now the scientific consensus.

From Slate • Jan. 23, 2020

We learn how molecular sequencing helped test and eventually prove the endosymbiont hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts; these eukaryotic organelles are now known to have evolved from once free-living bacteria.

From Nature • Jul. 30, 2018

The colors of corals are a result of the particular protist endosymbiont, and when the protists leave, the corals lose their color and turn white, hence the term “bleaching.”

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013