symbiont

Also sym·bi·ote

[sim-bee-ont, -bahy-]

noun

Biology.

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis.

symbiont

/ ˈsɪmbɪˌɒnt /

noun

1. an organism living in a state of symbiosis

symbiont

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

Other Word Forms

• symbiontic adjective
• symbiontically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of symbiont¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of symbiont¹

C19: from Greek sumbioun to live together, from bioun to live

Example Sentences

"Instead of having bacteria in the human gut, corals have this little algal symbiont that lives inside their cells that allow them to do biological processes," she explains, adding that this algae is what gives the corals their colour.

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

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For that, they compared the genomes of symbionts across the Isthmus of Panama with other lucinid symbiont genomes from around the world.

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"Through horizontal gene transfer, lucinid symbionts likely obtained the nitrogen fixation genes from another symbiont lineage," notes Morel-Letelier.

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Moreover, it was found that signalling exchange between legume and its symbiont plays a critical role in modulating the profile of root secreted molecules, influencing the assembly of a symbiotic root microbiome.

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