autotroph

See also: Autotroph

English

Etymology

auto- (from Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, self-)) + -troph (from Ancient Greek τροφή (trophḗ, nourishment))

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɔːtə(ʊ)tɹəʊf/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɔɾəˌtɹoʊf/

Noun

autotroph (plural autotrophs)

  1. (ecology) Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.
    • 2013 March, Harold J. Morowitz, “The Smallest Cell”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 4 January 2017, page 83:
      It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.

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Translations

German

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Adjective

autotroph (strong nominative masculine singular autotropher, not comparable)

  1. (biology) autotrophic

Declension

Further reading

  • autotroph” in Duden online
  • autotroph” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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