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Photoautotrophs are organisms that can utilize light energy from sunlight and elements (such as carbon) from inorganic compounds to produce organic materials needed to sustain their own metabolism (i.e. autotrophy). Such biological activities are known as photosynthesis, and examples of such organisms include plants, algae and cyanobacteria.
Herbivores and carnivores are examples of organisms that obtain carbon and electrons or hydrogen from living organic matter. Chemoorganotrophs are organisms which use the chemical energy in organic compounds as their energy source and obtain electrons or hydrogen from the organic compounds, including sugars (i.e. glucose ), fats and proteins. [ 2 ]
In contrast to photoautotrophs, photoheterotrophs are organisms that depend solely on light for their energy and principally on organic compounds for their carbon. Photoheterotrophs produce ATP through photophosphorylation but use environmentally obtained organic compounds to build structures and other bio-molecules.
Most photosynthetic organisms are photoautotrophs, which means that they are able to synthesize food directly from carbon dioxide and water using energy from light. However, not all organisms use carbon dioxide as a source of carbon atoms to carry out photosynthesis; photoheterotrophs use organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide, as a ...
The mechanisms of sulfur oxidation in green sulfur bacteria are not well characterized. Some enzymes thought to be involved in sulfide oxidation include flavocytochrome c, sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase and the SO x system. Flavocytochrome can catalyze the transfer of electrons to cytochromes from sulfide, and these cytochromes could then move ...
Organisms that grow by fixing carbon, such as most plants and algae, are called autotrophs. These include photoautotrophs (which use sunlight) and lithoautotrophs (which use inorganic oxidation ). Heterotrophs , such as animals and fungi , are not capable of carbon fixation but are able to grow by consuming the carbon fixed by autotrophs or ...
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. Autotrophs produce complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates , fats , and proteins ) using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide, [ 1 ] generally using energy from light or ...
The hydrothermal vent microbial community includes all unicellular organisms that live and reproduce in a chemically distinct area around hydrothermal vents. These include organisms in the microbial mat, free floating cells, or bacteria in an endosymbiotic relationship with animals. Chemolithoautotrophic bacteria derive nutrients and energy ...