autotroph
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy
Examples
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M. jannaschii is an autotroph, meaning that it generates all its energy from inorganic substances.
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Thus, the species is an autotroph, meaning that it can obtain its own food from the conversion of light or chemical energy.
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A heterotroph is an organism that feeds off of another, or its byproducts (so both herbivores and carnivores), as opposed to an autotroph which produces its own energy from the environment (photosynthesis for example).
Note
The word 'autotroph' comes from the roots 'auto-' (self) and '-troph' (ultimately from a Greek root meaning 'nurse').