Heterotroph
/ˈhɛtərəˌtroʊf/
Definition
Heterotroph refers to an organism that cannot make its own food from sunlight or inorganic chemicals and must obtain carbon and energy by consuming organic matter from other organisms. In plant biology, this contrasts with autotrophs such as most green plants, which photosynthesize. Fungi, many bacteria, and some parasitic or nonphotosynthetic plants are heterotrophic because they depend on living hosts or decaying material for nutrition.
Biological Role
- Nutrient dependence in non-photosynthetic plants: Some plants are fully or partly heterotroph, including parasitic species and mycoheterotrophs that obtain carbon through fungi instead of making enough sugars by photosynthesis.
- Link to fungi and soil food webs: In botany, heterotroph often matters because many plant-associated organisms, such as fungi and most bacteria, depend on organic matter made by photosynthetic life and help recycle nutrients around roots.
- Seedling and tissue culture stages: Young seedlings rely on stored food in the seed before leaves can support strong photosynthesis, so this early phase includes heterotroph metabolism even in plants that later become mainly autotrophic.
- Clue to unusual plant ecology: A heterotroph lifestyle can help explain why certain pale or leaf-reduced plants grow in deep shade or specialized habitats, where they depend on hosts or fungal partners rather than normal sugar production.
Related Terms
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Saprophyte
Saprophyte refers to an organism that obtains nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter rather than from a living…
Parasitic plants
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