Carbon source (biology)

Autotrophs mainly use carbon dioxide (CO2) through the process of photosynthesis as their carbon source (green arrow), whereas heterotrophs must acquire carbon by consuming organic compounds from autotrophs or other heterotrophs. Both types of organisms generate CO2 as a metabolic byproduct (red arrows).

A carbon source is a carbon-containing molecule that is used by an organism to synthesize biomass. Such sources may be organic or inorganic. Heterotrophs must use organic molecules as a source of both carbon and energy. In contrast, autotrophs may use inorganic materials as a source for both, such as inorganic chemical energy (chemolithotrophs) or light (photoautotrophs). The carbon cycle, which begins with an inorganic carbon source (such as carbon dioxide) and progresses through the biological carbon fixation process, includes the biological use of carbon as one of its components.[1]

Types of organism by carbon source

Autotrophs

This section is an excerpt from Autotroph.[edit]

An autotroph is an organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms.

Heterotrophs

This section is an excerpt from Heterotroph.[edit]

A heterotroph (/ˈhɛtərəˌtroʊf, -ˌtrɒf/;[1][2] from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros), meaning "other", and τροφή (trophḗ), meaning "nourishment") is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly matter from other organisms. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but not producers.[3][4] Living organisms that are heterotrophic include most animals,[5][6] all fungi, some bacteria and protists,[7] and many parasitic plants. The term heterotroph arose in microbiology in 1946 as part of a classification of microorganisms based on their type of nutrition.[8] The term is now used in many fields, such as ecology, in describing the food chain. Heterotrophs occupy the second and third trophic levels of the food chain while autotrophs occupy the first trophic level.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "heterotroph". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  2. ↑ "heterotroph". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. OCLC 1032680871.
  3. ↑ "Heterotroph Definition". Biology Dictionary. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Hogg, Stuart (2013). Essential Microbiology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-119-97890-9.
  5. ↑ Pelletreau, Karen N.; Bhattacharya, Debashish; Price, Dana C.; Worful, Jared M.; Moustafa, Ahmed; Rumpho, Mary E. (April 2011). "Sea slug kleptoplasty and plastid maintenance in a metazoan". Plant Physiology. 155 (4): 1561–1565. Bibcode:2011PlanP.155.1561P. doi:10.1104/pp.111.174078. ISSN 1532-2548. PMC 3091133. PMID 21346171.
  6. ↑ "Giant tubeworm • MBARI". MBARI. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "How Cells Harvest Energy" (PDF). McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  8. ↑ Lwoff, A.; C.B. van Niel; P.J. Ryan; E.L. Tatum (1946). Nomenclature of nutritional types of microorganisms (PDF). Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology. Vol. XI (5th ed.). Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.: The Biological Laboratory. pp. 302–303. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Heterotrophs". education.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
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