gregarine

Meaning

1. 1nouncountabletechnicalbiology

   A tiny single-celled parasite that lives in the gut of insects and other invertebrates.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say a gregarine or gregarines.

   Patterns

   • a gregarine infects something
   • gregarines in the gut

   The scientist found a gregarine inside the beetle's intestine.

   Gregarines can reduce the health of their insect hosts.

   Under the microscope, the gregarine was clearly visible among the gut contents.

Word forms

Common combinations

gregarine infection

The colony suffered from a gregarine infection.

gut gregarine

Gut gregarines are common in earthworms.

gregarine parasite

The gregarine parasite attaches to the host's cells.

Synonyms and how they differ

protozoan

A broader term for any single-celled organism; gregarine is a specific type.

parasite

General word for an organism that lives on or in another; gregarine is a particular kind.

Practice

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