obsolete autophagy of symbiont cells on or near host surface true The reason for obsoletion is that this term did not represent any specific host/symbiont process. biological_process GO:0075073 OBSOLETE. The process in which symbiont cells digest parts of their own cytoplasm, occurring when the symbiont is on or near its host surface. The host is defined as the larger of the organisms involved in a symbiotic interaction.