English

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 1, Harold J. Morowitz, “The Smallest Cell”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, 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.

Synonyms

• producer

Coordinate terms

• heterotroph

Derived terms

• autotrophic
• autotrophically
• autotrophy

Translations

German

Adjective

autotroph ‎(not comparable)

1. (biology) autotrophic

Declension