Saprotroph
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Decomposer. (Discuss) |
A saprotroph (or saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds. Since saprotrophs cannot make food for themselves, they are considered a type of heterotroph. They include many fungi (the rest being parasitic, commensal or mutualistic symbionts), bacteria, and protozoa. Animal scavengers, such as dung beetles, vultures, and a few unusual non-photosynthetic plants are also sometimes referred to as saprotrophs, but are more commonly called saprophages.
Saprophyte is an older term that is now considered obsolete. The suffix -phyte means "plant". However, there are no truly saprotrophic organisms that are embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic orchids and monotropes, are now known to be parasites on other plants. They are termed myco-heterotrophs because a mycorrhizal fungus connects the parasitic plant with its host plant.
Some saprotrophic organisms are useful scavengers, and in sewage farms and refuse dumps break down organic matter into nutrients easily assimilable by green plants.
Further reading
- Hershey DR. 1999. Myco-heterophytes and parasitic plants in food chains. American Biology Teacher 61:575-578.
- Leake JR. 2005. Plants parasitic on fungi: unearthing the fungi in myco-heterotrophs and debunking the ‘saprophytic’ plant myth. Mycologist 19:113-122. [1]
- Werner PG. 2006. Myco-heterotrophs: Hacking the mycorrhizal network. Mycena News 57:1,8. Available from: http://www.mssf.org/mnews/0603mn.pdf (PDF)bg:Сапрофит
cs:Saprofyt de:Saprobiontfa:پودهزیis:Rotvera it:Saprofita lt:Saprotrofai nl:Saprofytno:Saprofyttsimple:Saprotroph fi:Saprotrofi sv:Saprofyter uk:Сапротрофи
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
