Symbiosis

Symbiosis (from Greek συμβίωσις 'living together', from σύν 'together' and βίωσις 'living') is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic. The organisms, each termed a symbiont, may be of the same or of different species. In 1879, Heinrich Anton de Bary defined it as 'the living together of unlike organisms'. The term was subject to a century-long debate about whether it should specifically denote mutualism, as in lichens; biologists have now abandoned that restriction. Symbiosis (from Greek συμβίωσις 'living together', from σύν 'together' and βίωσις 'living') is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic. The organisms, each termed a symbiont, may be of the same or of different species. In 1879, Heinrich Anton de Bary defined it as 'the living together of unlike organisms'. The term was subject to a century-long debate about whether it should specifically denote mutualism, as in lichens; biologists have now abandoned that restriction.