cytobiont

English

Etymology

From cyto- +‎ -biont or cytobiosis +‎ -ont.

Noun

cytobiont (plural cytobionts)

1. (biology) An organism involved in cytobiosis.
   • 1983, Kwang W. Jeon, Intracellular Symbiosis, page 4:

     There is little or no probability of a nonphotosynthetic eukaryotic cytobiont existing in nonparasitic cytobiosis with a nonphotosynthetic host because of too great a similarity, and therefore competition, in nutritional requirements.

   • 1990, Gerard M. Capriulo, Ecology of Marine Protozoa, page 328:

     In the more typical examples of cytobiosis described later, the cytobionts are located within the cytoplasm in small vacuoles or, more rarely, embedded within the cytoplasm itself.

Derived terms

• endocytobiont