symbiont

American  

[sim-bee-ont, -bahy-] / ˈsɪm biˌɒnt, -baɪ- /

Also symbiote

noun

Biology.

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis.

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symbiont British  

/ ˈsɪmbɪˌɒnt /

noun

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis

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symbiont Scientific  

/ sĭm′bē-ŏnt′,-bī- /

1. An organism in a symbiotic relationship. In cases in which a distinction is made between two interacting organisms, the symbiont is the smaller of the two and is always a beneficiary in the relationship, while the larger organism is the host and may or may not derive a benefit.

2. See also host parasite

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Other Word Forms

• symbiontic adjective
• symbiontically adverb

Etymology

Origin of symbiont

1885–90; < Greek symbiont- (stem of symbiṓn ), present participle of symbioûn “to live together”; symbiosis, onto-

Example Sentences

"We've been trying to crack this mystery for years and we finally discovered the shipworm's hidden bacterial symbiont secret."

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

Once they applied it to the original seawater samples collected from the North Atlantic, their suspicions about it being a symbiont were quickly confirmed.

From Science Daily • May 9, 2024

Bacteria, for instance, may make up as much as 95 percent of the serotonin in our bloodstreams, meaning you have a diverse symbiont community to thank for your pleasant mood.

From Slate • Jan. 23, 2020

In the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the cicada—both also sap-sucking insects—one symbiont supplies eight of the 10 essential amino acids missing in their diet, and another symbiont supplies the other two.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 14, 2019

In this latter case, which is often realised—e.g. lichens, leguminous plants and the organisms in their root-nodules, mycorrhiza, etc.—we leave the domain of disease, which supervenes indeed if the other symbiont is lacking.

From Disease in Plants by Ward, H. Marshall