Parasitic

A parasite is an Organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a Host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. Parasites also commonly show highly specialized adaptations allowing them to exploit host resources.

The harm caused to a host by a parasite can take many forms, from direct Pathology , including various specialized types of tissue damage, such as castration, to more subtle effects such as modification of host behaviour. Many Cuckoo s, for example, are Brood Parasite s that use their unwitting hosts as lifetime "babysitters": cuckoo young are raised by adults of the host species, but adult cuckoos fend for themselves.

The , for example, which could be cultured in a Laboratory .

Evolution arily speaking, biotrophic Parasitism is an extremely successful mode of life. Depending on the definition used, as many as half of all Animal s have at least one parasitic phase in their life cycles, and it is also frequent in Plant s and Fungi . Moreover, almost all free-living animals are host to one or more parasite Taxa .

Necrotrophs are Parasites that use another organism's tissue for their own nutritional benefit until the host dies from loss of needed tissues or nutrients. '''Biotrophs'''' hosts are kept alive, and parasites in a symbiotic relation which is a co-operative relationship between two species for mutual gain.

EXAMPLES

Endoparasites

(''endo'' = within; parasites that live inside their hosts)

Plants

--- Rafflesia

Animals

--- Acanthocephala

--- Candiru (Vampire fish of Brazil)

--- '' Clonorchis Sinensis '' (the Chinese liver fluke)

--- '' Cymothoa Exigua ''

--- Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)

--- '' Enterobius Vermicularis ''

--- '' Sacculina ''

--- Strepsiptera

--- '' Strongyloides Stercoralis ''

Fungi (such as Ringworm )

--- Gymnosporangium and other rusts

--- Pyrenophora Teres

Protists (Protozoa)

--- Plasmodium ( Malaria s)

--- Kinetoplastid protists of the '' Trypanosoma '' and '' Leishmania '' genera ( Sleeping Sickness , Chagas Disease and Leishmania )

--- '' Balantidium Coli '' (the only ciliated protozoan to infect humans)

--- '' Giardia Lamblia '' (the most common intestinal protozoan in the United States)

--- '' Entamoeba Histolytica '' (causes Amebiasis , common in developing countries)

Modern culture

--- Lavos

Ectoparasites

(''ecto'' = outside; parasites that live on but not within their hosts, for example, attached to their skin)

Plants

--- Cuscuta

--- Mistletoe

--- Toothwort

--- The Wood Rose , ''Dactylanthus taylorii''

Animals

--- Hirudinea (some Leech es)

--- Phthiraptera (Lice)

--- Siphonaptera (Fleas)

--- Acarina (Ticks)

--- Tantulocarida

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Parasitic