Syntrophy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In biology, syntrophy,[1][2][3][4] syntrophism,[1][5][6] or cross-feeding[1] (from Greek syn meaning together, trophe meaning nourishment) is the cooperative interaction between at least two microbial species to degrade a single substrate.[2][3][4][7] This type of biological interaction typically involves the transfer of one or more metabolic intermediates between two or more metabolically diverse microbial species living in close proximity to each other.[3][5] Thus, syntrophy can be considered an obligatory interdependency and a mutualistic metabolism between different microbial species, wherein the growth of one partner depends on the nutrients, growth factors, or substrates provided by the other(s).[8][9]