I love the idea of symbiosis and when I first learned about the term, it seemed to have all the answers. But not all of the answers come in the form of a scientific study, so I did some research on what the word meant. I came across many sources to find out that symbiosis is the term used to describe two or more different organisms in which both parties benefit from the other.
When I saw the name of the game, I thought this was going to be an argument for symbiosis. The idea is to have a group of species living together, and when one species dies, another species takes over its role. So when you think of it that way, it certainly sounds like symbiosis. But the problem is that it’s not. Symbiosis is the most commonly used term that describes living organisms that are not sexually reproducing.
In a symbiotic relationship, two organisms are not physically involved in the actual reproduction, but they are in a relationship where both sides benefit from each other. For example, when I think of the world’s most popular fungus, mycorrhizae, I think of the benefits that mycorrhizae provides to trees. This is not to say that trees are actually taking advantage of symbiosis, because I think they would not have been as successful as they are if they did.
Some trees are actually doing just fine without mycorrhizae, but some of the trees that are most popular are in symbiotic relationships with fungus. These relationships are not always beneficial for the trees, though. Many of the most common trees and shrubs are in symbiotic relationships with fungi. The most popular example is the redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens), but many of the other trees and shrubs in the world are also being supported by fungi.
To get a better idea of what fungi and symbiosis are, check out the link I just sent you. Or, if you’re not a student of biology, watch this short video at the link.
Symbiosis is when two organisms exchange a substance that they both use for their own benefit. A symbiosis is a specific relationship between an organism and its host. This relationship is not necessarily beneficial to the host, but it can be beneficial to the symbiont. For instance, a tree might exchange an enzyme, a nutrient, or a defense substance with its fungus to aid in the growth of its trees.
The more I learn about symbiosis, the more I realize that there are two possible definitions of it. One is the sort of relationship that occurs between two different organisms that are not related to one another. In this case, the fungus and the plant both use the enzyme that the tree has in its tree leaf for its own benefit. The other definition is the sort of relationship between two organisms that are very closely related.
In the case of symbiosis, the fungi and the tree both have enzyme proteins that they use to aid in the growth of each other’s trees. In the case of abiosis, the fungus and the tree both have no enzymes involved. The fungus uses its enzymes to aid in the growth of the tree. But because the tree’s enzyme protein is used by the fungus, the tree has no enzymes to aid in the growth of the fungus.
Abiotic is a much more colloquial term that actually means “without life”, and we’ll use that term throughout this document for the sake of clarity. Abiotic is usually used only when discussing organisms that are incapable of reproducing or even reproducing themselves. For example, the term you used when describing life on Earth is abiotic. Life on Earth, however, has a lot of enzymes involved so we will use abiotic throughout the rest of this document.
