I call an organism polygenetic when it is made up of cells (or other components) that have more than one genotype and the cells of each genotype reproduce independently of one another. A cow, for instance, is a polygenetic organism, as it is composed partly of the stuff that we call "cow", and partly of a complex gut flora of fungi and bacteria which digest the cow's food for it, and without which the cow could not survive. (To be fair, the gut flora don't do very well outside of the cow, either). In fact, all multi-celled animals are dependent on gut flora for their digestion - - the schoolbook discussions of cows and termites as if they are somehow an exception is grossly misleading. We are no exception either: those experiences where you drink "bad water" and end up with diarrhea are not caused by microorganisms that attack us directly - - instead, they attack our gut flora, and until the good guys re-establish themselves, we can't digest our food properly.
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In fact, all prokaryotic organisms are multi-genetic in that our cells house mitochodria, which are really independent organisms that multiply on their own, and which we feed sugar (which our cells actually can't process on their own) in return for which they transform adenosine phosphates for us, which our cells actually can use. Thus, on several different levels, we are poly-genetic, or colony organisms.
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