heterotroph
/ˈhɛt(ə)rə(ʊ)trəʊf
/ /hɛt(ə)rə(ʊ)ˈtrɒf/noun Biology
An organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances. Compare with autotroph.This photosynthetic control of cell-cycle progression is similar to the nutritional control of heterotrophs....
- Classified by the source of their energy, bacteria fall into two categories: heterotrophs and autotrophs.
- Animals, on the other hand, are heterotrophs, life forms that depend on the consumption of plants, animals or both in order to meet their bioenergetic requirements.
Derivatives
heterotrophic
- They commonly occur as free-living, photosynthetic and marine unicells and also include endosymbiotic, parasitic, heterotrophic and freshwater taxa.
- Overall, the results stress the importance of both heterotrophic and phototrophic metabolisms when considering environmental controls on the structure of bacterial communities in the sea.
- In this case, changes in photosynthetic activity enable comparisons to be made between mitochondria in autotrophic and heterotrophic tissue.
heterotrophy
- If detached leaves were fed glucose, inducing a rapid switch from autotrophy to heterotrophy, then they were seen to exhibit GPT activity.
- After greening and probable transition from heterotrophy to autotrophy, root growth rate was enhanced and growth followed a linear pattern.
- Based on polyp size, corallite structure, and surface area considerations, M. faveolata appears to depend on photoautotrophy versus heterotrophy to a greater extent than its congener, M. cavernosa.
Origin
Early 20th century: from hetero- 'other' + Greek trophos 'feeder'.