Question

Which one of the following is a total parasite?
A. Nepenthes
B. Rhizobium
C. Cuscuta
D. Lichens

Answer 1

Hint: Living organisms survive in the environment showing different types of interaction with each other. Some of the organisms benefit it by taking nutrition from the other organisms. It is known as a parasitism relationship. One organism acts as a parasite and the other acts as host. The total parasite cannot prepare their own food and take nutrition from the host.

Complete answer:
> Parasites are the organisms which survive on the other organisms. They take nutrition from the host. Cuscuta (dodder) is commonly called as amarbel. It acts as a holo-parasite. It takes the sap from the host plants. They lack chlorophyll. That’s why they cannot prepare their own food. They also act as an obligate stem parasite. It attaches to the host plant by wrapping itself. It takes nutrition from the host and produces haustoria which gets inserted in the vascular system of the host. They are mostly found in tropical regions, and attach to multiple plants for its survival. It is an annual plant.
> The tropical pitcher plants are classified in the genus of Nepenthes. They are also called monkey cups. These are the perennial herbaceous plants that feed on insects. They capture insects with their pitcher shaped leaves. They are mostly growing in acidic soil.
> Rhizobium is also called nitrogen fixing bacteria. It lives on the root nodules of the leguminous plants. They form symbiotic association with the plants. They have great ecological importance.
> Lichens are the fungi which can be seen as large colored patches on the bark of the tree. They live in mutually dependent relationships with cyanobacteria.
> From the above information we have found that Cuscuta is the total parasite.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: On the basis of characteristics, size, and relationship with host parasites can of different types. Parasites are mainly of two types: endo-parasite and ecto-parasite. Endo-parasite survives on the surface of the host while the endo-parasite survives inside the host like malarial parasite. The parasites that completely depend on the host throughout their life are called obligate parasites. Some parasites do not depend on the host completely and are called facultative parasites.