autotrophic

British  

/ ˌɔːtəˈtrɒfɪk, ˈɔːtətrəʊf /

adjective

1. (of organisms such as green plants) capable of manufacturing complex organic nutritive compounds from simple inorganic sources such as carbon dioxide, water, and nitrates, using energy from the sun Compare heterotrophic

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Other Word Forms

• autotroph noun

Example Sentences

"This bacterium is an autotrophic organism, like a plant. It does, however, not need light like a plant, as it draws its energy from phosphite oxidation."

From Science Daily • Nov. 10, 2023

Synthetic biologists have long tried to engineer plants and autotrophic bacteria to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from water and CO2, because it has the potential to be cheaper than other routes.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2019

That means researchers should be able to insert these changes autotrophic E. coli that eat formate, which is readily made by zapping CO2 in water with electricity.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2019

Most autotrophic bacteria do this by using photosynthesis, a process that converts light energy into chemical energy that can be utilized by cells.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

It is obvious that the metabolic processes of the autotrophic plants are very different from those of the heterotrophic type of plants.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred