Discover many examples of autotrophs throughout this article, but not only this, you can also learn what they are, their importance and much more that you do not want to miss, do not forget to share this valuable information with your loved ones.
autotrophic organisms
From high school and in certain cases from primary school, everything that has to do with nature, living organisms, animals, plants and much more is studied, among them are autotrophs, these being an extremely important rank within ecosystems and the biodiversity that this implies, without these nothing else would be possible and would even be non-existent.
And although on many occasions it is seen since we are very young, perhaps it goes from being perceived or simply it is not given the importance that it really deserves; these within the field of biology are seen as producers, but why? It is simply due to the fact that these are those capable of generating or producing their own food, they are also primary, which means that they inhabited the world In the first instance.
But how do they achieve this? Very easy, they do it through inorganic substances, surely you are wondering for an example, this would be the case of plants, since clearly they do not have the ability to go or move for their food, so they themselves produce it for nourish themselves and not die, but this is also the case for many bacteria and algae, which are dependent on other factors to stay alive.
These inorganic substances are transformed into organic substances which are essential for your metabolism to function properly. It is important to note that for this process to take place completely and adequately, water must be available, but not only this, but also there must be sunlight, carbon dioxide or other inorganic forms, as well as mineral salts.
These have a great importance in nature, since they are capable of generating their own food and therefore stay alive, but not only that, but also, they also keep alive many other living beings that perhaps feed on them, as the example of human beings could be given, being these heterotrophic organisms that need the first ones to eat.
What is a biosimilar
These organisms have already been discussed in general, however, their concept has not been detailed, these being simply those that produce their form of food or nutrition; Even the mentioned process of the conversion that they carry out from inorganic to organic matter is called "autotrophic nutrition".
Its capacity is total at the time of synthesizing nutrients for your body through inorganic elements, but first of all it is important to understand what metabolism is, this being the group of chemical reactions that take place inside of the organism to transform food into energy, which is necessary to be able to carry out everything in daily life, growth, thinking and much more.
Within these organisms, the different vegetables are included (carrot, potato, beet, among others), the different plants that surround us and many bacteria; It is important to note that many of these organisms live in photic environments, but what does this mean? Well, they are those in which there are moments of sunlight, that is, the sun's rays penetrate them for a certain time and every certain period.
This type of organisms do not have any kind of need regarding other living organisms, their nutrition is independent; You are surely wondering where the conception of "autotrophs" originated. For this, it is necessary to always keep in mind the fact that all living beings are made up of oxygen, carbon, water and hydrogen.
In addition, it is necessary that it have matter; Knowing this, the organisms in question were created with the beginning of the world, of life in general, taken as a fundamental or basic and simple organism, which lived through photosynthesis, by itself, from which it was derived all animal life.
Within examples of food chains that everyone knows are these organisms as primary, they are the base of this chain and essential for the subsistence of the rest of the organisms. Seen in a more elaborate way, these are capable of changing carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts into glucose, oxygen, glucose and starch, by means of the sun's rays.
Types of autotrophic organisms
It is important to highlight the types of these organisms known to date, being these two, the photoautotrophs and the chemoautotrophs, they are divided in this way according to the energy that each one uses to carry out the entire procedure already mentioned, the first by means of sunlight and the second by chemical energy, all explained in greater detail in the following segments.
But before starting with the two types of autotrophic organisms, certain relevant aspects will be detailed:
In the chemoautotrophic type of nutrition, the carbon source is inorganic, as in the photoautotrophic, however, the same does not happen with the donor of “e” which in the case of the latter is “C. inorganic (S2-) and in the case of the former, both the energy source and the Donor of "e" are inorganic compounds (H2S, fe 2+, CH4, H2 NH4+, NO3, NO2), but in the case of the photoautotrophs the source of energy is light.
Photoautotrophs
As already mentioned, these are those that receive their energy through sunlight, when talking about "photo" we are referring to "photon", that is, it is derived from it, which are those particles that they generate light. So it is the latter that gives the necessary energy to be able to nourish oneself adequately and subsist in the context where the organism is found; all this is through photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is understood as that chemical functionality that is carried out in plants that have chlorophyll and that through sunlight changes an inorganic substrate for an organic one that has energy.
In this case, clear examples can be algae, different bacteria and plants; The fact that photosynthesis transforms the water that is in the soil and the carbon dioxide into Glucose, which is a form of sugar that gives energy to vegetables and plants, should not be left aside. the latter also use glucose to generate cellulose that they use to build cell walls and to grow.
But in the soil there is not only water but there is also air, microorganisms and organic matter, through which nutrients are obtained, but it is not just that simple there is a little more complication, but there are more phases within this nutrition, such as the following:
- absorbs inorganic nutrients
- Then the waters and salts are transformed to the green areas of the plant
- Oxygen and carbon gas exchange takes place
- Then photosynthesis begins, obtaining oxygen in the second instance.
- Subsequently, the transport of organic matter begins by means of phloem throughout the entire plant.
- It initiates the respiration of the cells which generates the energies for the cells.
- And finally, there is the excretion of the elements that the metabolism will eliminate.
chemoautotrophs
With this type, reference is made to those that can obtain their nutrients or food through some chemical molecules, but in greater quantity, of those of the reduced inorganic type; It is also highlighted that they do not use the sun's rays to be able to feed or nourish themselves. These do not have carbon but they do have some energies by which they create their food.
This type usually lives in extreme places, that is, where nature is quite strong, since these are usually the areas where they get the toxic chemicals that allow them to carry out oxidation. An example of this type of environment are the volcanoes, where there are bacteria that subsist in this type of place, which oxidize the sulfur and thus feed; a fact of real life occurs in the Yellowstone where there are bacteria that carry out this process in the hot springs.
This type of organism can be classified as follows:
- Iron bacteria: in this first case, reference is made to those that oxidize both manganese and iron in a reduced form.
- nitrifying bacteria: are those that use small inorganic nitrogen compounds as a means of energy.
- sulfur bacteria: Finally there are those that use hydrogen sulfide for the energy they need.
It is important to note that in the depths of the world's oceans there are many bacteria that use this process to get their energy and food, especially in those areas very close to hydrothermal vents.
Surely you are wondering what a hydrothermal vent is, because it is very simple and it is that they are those cracks that form in the depths, which is why the water is filtered through there until it meets rocks at high temperatures, so it expels water boiling again returning to the ocean but this time having minerals that come from the almost molten rock such as hydrogen sulfide.
Why are autotrophs important in the ecosystem?
Throughout the article there have been various indications of the great importance that these organisms have for terrestrial life, their existence is essential even when it is not given the required importance, because these are the primary generators of the food base, if the base fails, the pyramid collapses, since some consume others, forming a circle.
It should be noted that these are the most numerous within the different habitats, taking advantage of many organisms for themselves to survive; vegetables and the diversity of plants, that is, autotrophs, are ingested by herbivorous animals, since these are the ones that base their diet on plants and vegetables; these are found within the second level of the food chain.
On the other hand, there are Carnivorous animals which are those who consume meat and omnivores, these being those who consume either vegetables or meat and belong to the third stage of the food chain. Heterotrophs are exploiters of autotrophs; always starting food chains with some autotrophic organism, because they are the ones that produce.
A clear example of this is what happens with the grass that grows in the fields or other areas, being this autotrophic, which are ingested by carnivorous animals, which are heterotrophic, as would be the case with cows.
In those areas where autotrophs abound more, there will be more animals that consume you and vice versa, if these decrease so will the heterotrophs or carnivores and in turn those that follow them in the food chain, until the ecosystem is destroyed, such is the case that happens when forests are cut down or burned, many organisms disappear because they cannot feed.
Many perhaps move to other areas, which are the so-called invasive animals, but many others will simply die, and also being invasive species can cause serious damage to the environment where they are and their quality of life will deteriorate considerably.
Most representative examples and characteristics
There is a great variety of autotrophs on the planet, green plants are a clear example, so the variety is wide within the different existing habitats; there are the pines, the oaks, the parsley, the cilantro, the lettuce, the laurel, the hydrangeas and the lawn.
But these are not the only ones, since within the immensity of the sea and rivers a great variety of autotrophic organisms can also be found, among which algae can be mentioned, these being the most common and the ones that can mostly be seen by the sea. human eye, when approaching a beach or when diving on reefs.
And there are also phytoplanktons, which unlike the previous ones, are more difficult to see, since their size does not allow it, but they are also abundant in the oceans; In addition, the various bacteria that are obtained in the seas can be mentioned, among which are those of iron and those of sulfur, the former are obtained in rivers and soils and the latter where there is a cluster of pyrite.