autotroph

Home > ... > Science and Technology > Biology and Genetics > Biology: General > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side A Dictionary of Ecology A Dictionary of Zoology The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

autotroph

autotroph , in biology, an organism capable of synthesizing its own organic substances from inorganic compounds. Autotrophs produce their own sugars, lipids, and amino acids using carbon dioxide as a source of carbon, and ammonia or nitrates as a source of nitrogen. Organisms that use light for the energy to synthesize organic compounds are called photosynthetic autotrophs; organisms that oxidize such compounds as hydrogen sulfide (H ₂ S) to obtain energy are called chemosynthetic autotrophs, or chemotrophs. Photosynthetic autotrophs include the green plants, certain algae, and the pigmented sulfur bacteria (see photosynthesis ). Chemotrophs include the iron bacteria, the nitrifying bacteria, and the nonpigmented sulfur bacteria (see chemosynthesis ). Heterotrophs are organisms that must obtain their energy from organic compounds.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-autotrop" title="Facts and information about autotroph">autotroph</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"autotroph." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"autotroph." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-autotrop.html

"autotroph." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-autotrop.html

Learn more about citation styles

autotroph

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Â© A Dictionary of Zoology 1999, originally published by Oxford University Press 1999. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

autotroph An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare HETEROTROPH.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O8-autotroph" title="Facts and information about autotroph">autotroph</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-autotroph.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-autotroph.html

Learn more about citation styles

autotroph

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Â© A Dictionary of Ecology 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

autotroph An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare heterotroph.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O14-autotroph" title="Facts and information about autotroph">autotroph</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-autotroph.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "autotroph." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-autotroph.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Get a Deep Insight into the Environmental Markets for Biotechnology.
Business Wire; 11/13/2008

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Allelopathy of aquatic autotrophs Magazine article from: Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences; 1/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ABSTRACT: Allelopathy in aquatic environments may provide a competitive advantage to angiosperme, algae, or cyanobacteria in their interaction with other primary producers. Allelopathy can influence the competition between different photoautotrophs for resources and change the succession of
	Dependence of herbivory on autotrophic nitrogen content and on net primary production across ecosystems. Magazine article from: The Biological Bulletin; 10/1/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...that ecosystems dominated by richer autotrophs (i.e., those with a higher nutrient...If ecosystems composed of richer autotrophs are indeed subject to higher herbivory...ecosystems are not necessarily dominated by autotrophs with higher nutrient contents (4...
	Researchers from University of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry publish new studies and findings in the area of life sciences. Newspaper article from: Science Letter; 12/2/2008; 700+ words ; ...maintenance and product formation of autotrophs in activated sludge: taking the nitrite...People's Republic of China, "The autotrophs in activated sludge play an important...maintenance, and product formation of the autotrophs is still sparse." "In this work both...
	Nonsteady-state modeling of multispecies activated-sludge processes Magazine article from: Water Environment Research; 9/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...denitrifying respiration, ammonia-oxidizing autotrophs, nitriteoxidizing autotrophs, and inert (inactive) biomass. Thus, the...and are an important ecological link between autotrophs and heterotrophs (Rittmann et al., 1994...
	Environmental predictors of benthic consumers and autotrophic communities along a recovery gradient. Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences; 10/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...examined relationships between benthic autotroph (epilithic periphyton) and consumer...expected to increasingly regulate benthic autotrophs (e.g., epilithic periphyton) as...significant associations between benthic autotrophs and changes in acidity and dissolved...
	Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!(science trivia) Magazine article from: Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication; 9/21/2007; 700+ words ; ...are What are hoodoos? POINTS autotrophs? MATHEMATICS Health Scienes...They are flightless birds. 5. Autotrophs are living things that can make...Plants and some bacteria are autotrophs. Earth Science 1. True...
	Presentation of the paleontological society medal to Jack A. Wolfe / Response by Jack A. Wolfe Magazine article from: Journal of Paleontology; 7/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...that, for overall, students of autotrophs are greatly outnumbered by students...colleagues if they have thanked an autotroph for their professional existence...up the score on the side of the autotrophs to five by introducing this year...
	Third branch of life bares its genes. (Archaea) Magazine article from: Science News; 8/24/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...investigators because M. jannaschii is the first autotroph whose genome has been sequenced. Autotrophs, unlike animals, do not depend upon amino...says Venter. Understanding how and when autotrophs evolved may topple the popular idea that...
	Metal extraction by bacterial oxidation. Magazine article from: Mining Magazine; 10/1/1995; ; 700+ words ; ...chemolithoautotrophs and facultative autotrophs, coupled with a system which classifies...as their sole source of carbon (the autotrophs). Indeed some bugs, the obligate...certain conditions (the facultative autotrophs). Different species of bacteria thrive...
	Diffusion of Oxygen Through Activated Sludge Flocs: Experimental Measurement, Modeling, and Implications for Simultaneous Nitrification and Denitrification Magazine article from: Water Environment Research; 4/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...dissolved oxygen by heterotrophs and autotrophs accurately predicted the dissolved oxygen...Aerobic growth of ammonia-oxidizing autotrophs, (3) Aerobic growth of nitrite-oxidizing autotrophs, (4) Anoxic growth of heterotrophs...