Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Pablo Borbon Main II
Batangas City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE and FINE ARTS

Civil and Sanitary Engineering Department

SE 404
Microbiology and Parasitology for Environmental
Engineering

Technical Report No. 1

CASTILLO, KATHLEEN KAYE D.

BSSE – 2201

May 08, 2020

 Symbiotic Relationships involving Microorganisms

Symbiotic Relationships
Symbiosis, or a symbiotic relationship, is defined as the living together or close
association of two dissimilar organisms (usually two different species). The organisms that live
together in such a relationship are referred to as symbionts. Some symbiotic relationships (called
mutualistic relationships) are beneficial to both symbionts, others (commensalistic relationships)
are beneficial to only one symbiont, and others (parasitic relationships) are harmful to one
symbiont. Many microorganisms participate in symbiotic relationships.
What is Parasitism?
The word parasite is derived from the Latin form of the Greek word, meaning “one who
eats at the table of another”. Parasitism is generally defined as a symbiotic relationship between
the two living species in which one organism is benefitted at the expense of the other. The
organism that is benefitted is called the parasite, while the one that is harmed is called the host.
A few examples of parasites are tapeworms, fleas, and barnacles. Tapeworms are
segmented flatworms that attach themselves to the insides of the intestines of animals such as
cows, pigs, and humans. They feed on the host’s partly digested food, depriving it of the
nutrients.
Types of Parasitism
There are various types of parasitism and are classified based on their size,
characteristics, interactions with their hosts and their life cycles.
1. Obligate Parasitism - This is the kind of parasitism in which the parasite is
completely dependent on the host to complete its life cycle. Obligate parasites
cannot survive without the host. Therefore, they do not severely harm the host.
Fungi, bacteria and viruses exhibit obligate parasitism. For eg., head lice, when
removed from the human scalp, dies.
2. Facultative Parasitism - In this kind of parasitism, the parasite is not completely
dependent on the host to complete its life cycle and can survive without the host.
A nematode species Strongyloides stercoralis is found free-living but causes a
disease strongyloidiasis when it infects humans.
3. Ectoparasitism - The parasites that live outside the body of the host exhibit
ectoparasitism. For eg., lice and ticks
4. Endoparasitism - Parasites that live inside the body of a host exhibit
endoparasitism. For eg., hookworms and nematodes.
5. Mesoparasitism - The parasites that enter the external openings of the host exhibit
mesoparasitism.
Parasitism in Humans
- The organisms that parasitize humans include fungi, leeches, lice, viruses, protozoa,
tapeworm, etc. Few organisms such as Helminthes live inside the intestine of the host and
 causes several infectious diseases, such as jaundice, malnutrition, diarrhoea, etc. All the
infections are caused by viruses and bacteria.
Parasitism in Plants

 Small green insects called aphids, parasitize plants by eating their sap. Several types of
fungi parasitize crops ad spoil fruits, vegetables and food grains. The parasitic plants
contain modified roots called haustoria which connect to the host xylem or phloem and
drain it of nutrients and water.
Parasitism in Insects

 Parasitism is very common in insects. Entomophagous parasites attack larva and young
insects. A few insects deposit their eggs within the body of the larva of other insect
species. When the eggs hatch, the young one eats the larva and derives nutrition from it.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Parasitism

ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE
HUMANS  The advantages or the
benefits of parasite in
human body is that they
may boost fertility being
infected with
roundworms might make
a woman more fertile.
 They might bring relief
from allergies because
when the body is infected
by parasitic hookworm
the allergy will reduced
for the two years that the
parasite live in the body.
 Parasitic worms reduce
symptoms of irritable
bowel disease in mice.
These worms basically
help the small intestines
keep irritating bacteria at
manageable levels.
PLANTS  Researchers found that
parasites strongly
influence food web
characteristics. Recent
efforts to include
parasites in food webs
 The disadvantages of
parasite in human body is
that they cause diseases
for example the
toxoplasma gondii is a
brain washing parasite.
Toxoplasma can find its
way into humans from
eating raw or
undercooked meat, or
from close contact with
cats. It rarely affects
felines but has been
linked to some stange
behaviour in humans –
there’s evidence that the
parasite can slow our
reaction times, with
infected drivers two to
three times more likely to
be involved in car
accidents.
 There are just two types
of parasite to consider:
nectrotrophs and
biotrophs. Necrotrophs
are a little like predators;
they kill the tissues they
 have revealed sharp
changes in the topology
of food webs, including
species richness, the total
number of links and
food chain length (the
number of trophic levels
in a web). It mean that
some parasites are good
in plants to regulate or
improve the food web.
ANIMALS  The advantages of
parasitism to animals is
that parasites are
important components of
ecosystems and can alter
the stability of food webs
same as in the plants.
Researchers said that the
parasites may influence
the behaviour of
individual hosts, regulate
population sizes of the
host by changing birth
and death rates and act as
ecosystem engineers.
Therefore, reducing the
parasite population and
losing parasite species
may have important
impacts on ecosystem
function, wildlife and
affect biodiversity.
are about to consume
before they eat them.
Unlike predators,
however, they don't
normally kill the whole
organism, just a part of
it. They do this by means
of toxins that diffuse out
into the host tissues,
killing the cells they
encounter. For example
the leaves are riddled
with dead spots brought
about by necrotrophic
plant parasites. These
range from small dark
spots to larger dead
areas, often ringed by
discoloured dying zones.
The fungi are within the
spots, releasing toxins
that kill the leaf cells and
then spreading out into
the killed areas.
 In animals, there are also
disadvantages for
example, parasites
introduced by exotic fish
species, such as anchor
worm, also poses a threat
to native fishes. This can
occur when exotic fish,
such as goldfish, are
released into waterways.
Another is the
Leishmania is an
intracellular parasite,
(one that lives in cells in
the skin or different
organs in the body),
Humans and domestic
dogs are susceptible to
infection, which often
results in serious disease.