autotroph

[ aw-tuh-trof, -trohf ]

noun

, Biology.

1. any organism capable of self-nourishment by using inorganic materials as a source of nutrients and using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis as a source of energy, as most plants and certain bacteria and protists.

autotroph

/ ô′tə-trŏf′ /

1. An organism that manufactures its own food from inorganic substances, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia. Most autotrophs, such as green plants, certain algae, and photosynthetic bacteria, use light for energy. Some autotrophs, such as chemosynthetic bacteria, obtain their energy from inorganic compounds such as hydrogen sulfide by combining them with oxygen.
2. Compare heterotroph

Other Words From

• auto·trophic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of autotroph¹

1935–40; back formation from autotrophic; auto- ¹, trophic

Example Sentences

But nearly all plants are autotrophs, producing their own food from sunlight.

From Science Magazine

Diatoms are autotrophs, meaning they make their own food from the energy of the sun, by the process of photosynthesis.

From Seattle Times

So, Ron Milo, a synthetic biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and his colleagues decided to see whether they could transform E. coli into an autotroph.

From Science Magazine

The problem is that chlorophyll, the main energy molecule in autotrophs, produces a weak fluorescence in the near infrared.

From New York Times

Some filamentous bacteria, including photosynthetic autotrophs, can bore deep into these carbonates, but this biological mining process remains a paradox; photosynthesis usually causes carbonates to grow, not dissolve.

From Science Magazine