The term phoresis is derived from the Greek word meaning “to carry.” In this type of symbiotic relationship, the phoront, usually the smaller organism, is mechanically carried by the other, usually larger, organism, the host. Unlike commensalism, there is no dependency in the procurement of food by either partner. Phoresis is a form of symbiosis in [...]
Commensalism does not involve physiologic interaction or dependency between the two partners, the host and the commensal. Literally, the term means “earing at the same table.” In other words, commensalism is a type of symbiosis in which spatial proximity allows the commensal to feed on substances captured or ingested by the host. The two partners can [...]
Trypanosoma cruzi infects 11-12 million people in South and Central America and is infective to about 100-150 species of wild and domesticated mammals. It is not at all certain how many of these act as reservoirs of human infection but the armadillo is very important as in this host the infections are long-lived. The vectors [...]
Ford and Dutton (1902) were first to report that Trypanosoma was a human parasite and also the causative of ‘Gambia’ fever: Kleine (1909) asserted that tse-tse fly (Glossina) was the intermediate host in the life history of Trypanosoma. Trypanosoma belongs to the Order Kinetoplastida which comprises relatively simple forms possessing 1-2 flagella provided with a [...]
Definitive host: The definitive host is the one in which a parasite reaches sexual maturity and undergoes reproduction. It is mostly a vertebrate. Intermediate host: The host in which some development of the parasite occurs but it does not reach sexual maturity, is referred as intermediate host and is usually a invertebrate. Paratenic or transport [...]
