Autotrophic

Definition

Autotrophic organisms use an inorganic carbon compound for their sole carbon source (Okafar, 2011). The corresponding pathways of carbon metabolism are also referred to as autotrophic.

Etymology: from Greek αυτός, self, and Greek τροφή, nourishment.

The carbon sources of autotrophic metabolism comprise carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon disulfide (CS₂). A majority of autotrophic organisms rely on CO₂ to cover their demand of cellular carbon. Examples include plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria, as well as a broad variety of chemotrophic microorganisms. CO-dependent autotrophs are metabolically, ecologically, and phylogenetically diverse (King and Weber, 2007). They convert CO to CO₂ and sometimes methane (CH₄) or acetate (Sokolova et al., 2009; Techtmann et al., 2009). Comparatively few bacteria are known to use CS₂ in their autotrophic metabolism (Cox et al., 2013).

Cross-references

• Heterotrophic

• Macroalgae

• Microphytobenthos

• Phytoplankton