With the aid of vivid examples explain the following statement
'A parasite is not always a pathogen'?
With the aid of vivid examples explain the following statement
'A parasite is not always a pathogen'?
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Apr 5
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in another organism (the host) and benefits at the host's expense. While many parasites are also pathogens, causing harm or disease to the host, not all parasites are necessarily pathogens.
One example of a non-pathogenic parasite is the remora fish. Remoras attach themselves to larger marine animals, such as sharks or whales, using a suction cup on their head. They feed off of the scraps of food left behind by the host and gain protection from predators by hitching a ride. While the remora benefits from this relationship, it does not harm or cause disease to the host.
Another example is the mistletoe plant, which is a parasitic plant that grows on the branches of trees and extracts nutrients from the host tree. While mistletoe can weaken the host tree and make it more susceptible to disease or damage, it does not directly cause harm or disease to the tree.
In both of these examples, the parasites benefit from their relationship with the host without necessarily causing harm or disease. This illustrates that a parasite is not always a pathogen, as not all parasites necessarily cause harm to their host.