Heterotrophic nutrition


Heterotrophic nutrition is a type of nutrition in which organisms depend upon other organisms for food to survive. Heterotrophic organisms have to take in all the organic substances they need to survive.
All animals, fungi, and non-photosynthesizing plants are heterotrophic. In contrast, green plants, red algae, brown algae, and cyanobacteria are all autotrophs, which use photosynthesis to produce their own food from sunlight.

Description

All eukaryotes except for green plants are unable to manufacture their own food: They obtain food from other organisms. This mode of nutrition is also known as heterotrophic nutrition.
All heterotrophs have to convert solid food into soluble compounds capable of being absorbed.Then the soluble products of digestion for the organism are being broken down for the release of energy. All heterotrophs depend on autotrophs for their nutrition. Heterotrophic organisms have only four types of nutrition.

Footnotes