"Tim Tyler"  wrote in message
> For /all/ living organisms to fuse (and without this there's
> an ever-present risk of one of the still-evolving creatures
> coming to dominate), the dominant creature would need to
> eliminate all its parasites and symbiotes. Is that remotely
> feasible?
>
Parasites don't damage their hosts out of spite, but because doing so is a
consequence of their reproductive strategy. However benefitting the host is
also good for the parasite. Mitochondria may have at one stage been
parasitic organisms that have become so symbiotic that they are now
effectively the same creature as the host.
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