heteroecious

Spending different stages of a life cycle on different, usually unrelated hosts. Used of parasites such as rust fungi and tapeworms.

[HETERO– + Greek oikiā, house + –OUS.]

Spending different stages of a life cycle on different, usually unrelated hosts. Used of parasites such as rust fungi and tapeworms.

Requiring different hosts in different stages of development; a characteristic of certain parasites.

The adjective has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: of parasitic animals; spending different stages of the life cycle on different host species
  Antonym: homoecious (meaning #1)

Meaning #2: of parasites; passing through different stages of the life cycle on different host species
  Antonym: autoecious (meaning #1)

A heteroecious parasite is one that requires at least two hosts. The primary host is the host in which the parasite spends its adult life; the other is the secondary host.

Heteroecious parasites include:

• Gymnosporangium (Cedar-apple rust); the juniper is the primary (telial) host and the apple, pear or hawthorn is the secondary (aecial) host
• Cronartium ribicola (White pine blister rust); the primary host are white pines, and currants the secondary.

History

The phenomenon of heteroecy was first discovered by A.S. Ørsted in 1863.

• Ørsted, A.S. (1963) Om Sygdomme hos Planterne, som foraarsages af Snyltesvampe, navnlig om Rust og Brand og om Midlerne til deres Forebyggelse. Kjøbenhavn.

This ecology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to parasites or parasitology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)