Definition of autotroph Autotroph
au•to•troph
We found 4 definitions of autotroph from 4 different sources.
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What does autotroph mean?
WordNet
Noun |
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| autotroph - plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances | ||
| autophyte, autophytic plant, autotrophic organism | ||
| plant life, flora, plant (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion | ||
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Wiktionary 
Wikipedia 
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An autotroph (from the Greek "autos" (self) and "trophe" (nutrition)) is an organism that makes organic compounds from simple molecules.
Uses.
Autotrophs are needed in every food chains of all ecosystems. They take energy from the environment (sun light or inorganic sources) and use it to make other organic molecules that are used to carry out various biological functions such as cell growth or repairing broken tissue.
Types.
Plants and other organisms that carry out photosynthesis are phototrophs (or photoautotrophs). Bacteria that oxidise inorganic compounds like hydrogen sulfide, ammonium or iron are called chemoautotrophs.
Other organisms, called heterotrophs, eat autotrophs.
There are some species that need organic compounds as a source of food, but are able to use light as a source of energy. These are not autotrophic, but heterotrophic. An organism that eats other organisms but gets energy from light as well is called a photoheterotroph, while an organism that eats organic compounds but gets energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds is caled a chemoheterotroph.
Part of speech
🔤- autotroph, noun, singular of autotrophs.
