MICROSYMBIOSIS 91 



shown that the microsymbionts are transmitted in the seeds 

 from one generation to another. 



The examples given above, while far from exhausting the 

 hst, suffice to illustrate the prevalence of microsymbiosis 

 in nature. It is obvious that a phenomenon which is so 

 common must be of some fundamental significance, and 

 can not be dismissed as a biological digression or mere curi- 

 osity. An analysis of the responses of microsymbionts 

 given in the next chapter reveals the fundamental impor- 

 tance of these associations. 



