Symbiosis in any close and prolonged living together or association of two or more organisms of different species. The partners in a symbiosis may be all consumers; consumers and producers; producers and saprophytes; consumers and saprophytes; and so on. The relationship In a symbiosis may be
• temporary or permanent; and
• harmful , beneficial or neutral to one or more or all the partners.
Nowadays , three basic types of symbiosis are recognized. They are parasitism, mutualism and commensalism. This current definition of symbiosis is very general. Formerly, it was only applied to mutualism.
