Symbiosis and Mutualism

Mutualism (biology)

Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences reduced fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expen...

Fungal symbiosis from mutualism to parasitism: who controls the outcome, host or invader?

Symbiosis of Plants , 9 Animals , and Microbes

CIntroduction ........................... ................................................. .............. ......... .. ... .. .......................... 185 Life on Eruth ... ........ ... ... ............... ............ .. .. .. ................................................................................ 186 Parasitism and Pathogenicity .... ..... .......... .................................

Stability of an octocoral-algal symbiosis over time and space

In symbiosis, 2 taxonomically different organisms co-exist, each pursuing their own agenda and yet, they are linked in one entity. A mutualistic symbiosis may break up if it is no longer beneficial to either one of the partners. Changing needs over time or changing environmental conditions may prompt symbiont switching. For example, corals may survive elevated temperatures by switching their al...

Ecological genomics of mutualism decline in nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Anthropogenic changes can influence mutualism evolution; however, the genomic regions underpinning mutualism that are most affected by environmental change are generally unknown, even in well-studied model mutualisms like the interaction between legumes and their nitrogen (N)-fixing rhizobia. Such genomic information can shed light on the agents and targets of selection maintaining cooperation ...