wiz-icon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

What is nutrition? Explain heterotrophic nutrition with their types.

Open in App
Solution

Nutrition is the process of intake of nutrients from which organisms can derive energy for various life processes.
Heterotrophic nutrition is the mode of nutrition in which organisms cannot synthesize their own food and derive nutrition by digesting organic matter from plants and animals.
Heterotrophic nutrition is further divided into three types depending on how the organisms derive their food.
1. Saprophytic nutrition:
Organisms derive their nutrition from dead and decaying organic matter.
They absorb nutrients through their body wall.
The organisms depend entirely on non-living substances as a source of food.
Bacteria and fungi are examples of organisms that follow saprophytic nutrition.
2. Parasitic nutrition
Organisms depend on other living organisms for their nutrition.
The organism on which the parasite feeds and derives its nutrition from is known as the host organism. The host organism is not benefited but is harmed in the association.
Examples of parasitic organisms are several bacteria, fungi, plants (e.g. Cuscuta) and animals (e.g. tapeworm, Ascaris).
3. Holozoic nutrition:
Parts of plants or animals or whole organisms are taken in as food, which is then digested to simple substances and absorbed by cells of the body.
Amoeba is an organism which shows the holozoic mode of nutrition.

flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
0
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
heterotrophic
BIOLOGY
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon