Autotroph vs. Auxotroph — What's the Difference?

An autotroph or primary producer is an organism that produces complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide, generally using energy from light (photosynthesis) or inorganic chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). They convert an abiotic source of energy (e.g.

A mutant organism (especially a bacterium or fungus) that requires a particular additional nutrient which the normal strain does not.

An organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide.

An organism, such as a strain of bacteria, that has lost the ability to synthesize certain substances required for its growth and metabolism as the result of mutational changes.

An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances, using light or chemical energy. Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria are autotrophs.

Any microorganism that has lost the ability to synthesize an organic compound required for its growth, usually as a result of mutation

(ecology) Any organism that can synthesize its food from inorganic substances, using heat or light as a source of energy.

An organism which is autotrophic, i. e., an organism (such as most plants and certain microorganisms) which are capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances, requiring only minerals as nutrients for growth, and using carbonate or carbon dioxide as a source of carbon and simple inorganic nitrogen as a nitrogen source; the energy required is derived from photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Opposed to heterotroph. See also auxotroph.

Plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances