To inoculate involves the introduction of microorganisms into a new environment. Originally the term referred to the insertion of a bud or shoot of one plant into the stem or trunk of another to develop new strains or hybrids. These hybrid plants would be resistant to botanic disease or they would allow greater harvests or range of climates. With the advent of vaccines to prevent human and animal disease, the term inoculate has come to represent injection of a serum to prevent, cure, or make immune from disease.

Inoculation is of prime importance in that the introduction of specific microorganism species into specific macroorganisms may establish a symbiotic relationships where each organism benefits. For example, the introduction of mycorrhiza fungus to plants improves the plants' ability to absorb nutrients from the soil.

See Also

Symbiosis