Definition
A close, prolonged physical and/or metabolic association between two or more distinct organisms.
Introduction
Most living organisms interact intimately with one or more symbiotic partners that are often vital for their health and survival. Symbiotic organisms are important ecosystem engineers (e.g., corals); they significantly impact biogeochemical cycles (e.g., legumes), and they contribute substantially to geological processes such as rock weathering (e.g., lichens and mycorrhizal fungi). Moreover, symbioses have played a crucial role in the origin and diversification of eukaryotic life.
Important terms and concepts
Symbioses are categorized as being mutualisms, where both organisms involved benefit, commensalisms, where one organism benefits and the other remains unaffected, or parasitisms, where one organism benefits but the other is harmed. When metabolite exchange occurs between symbiotic organisms, it is called syntrophy . Syntrophic interactions among...
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Dattagupta, S., Zielinski, F. (2011). Symbiosis. In: Reitner, J., Thiel, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geobiology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_228
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