phototrophy

(noun)

The synthesis of an organism's food from inorganic material using light as a source of energy

Related Terms

Examples of phototrophy in the following topics:

  • Facultative Phototrophy

    • Thus facultative phototrophy means an organism that can switch between phototrophy to make organix compounds and other means of getting cellular energy.
    • Probably the best studied example of a facultative phototrophy is Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

  • Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

    • Phototrophy is the process by which organisms trap light energy (photons) and store it as chemical energy in the form of ATP and/or reducing power in NADPH.
    • There are two major types of phototrophy: chlorophyll-based chlorophototrophy and rhodopsin-based retinalophototrophy.
    • Chlorophototrophy can further be divided into oxygenic photosynthesis and anoxygenic phototrophy.

  • Bacteriorhodopsin

    • Last, chlorophyll-based phototrophy is coupled to carbon fixation (the incorporation of carbon dioxide into larger organic molecules) and for that reason is photosynthesis, which is not true for bacteriorhodopsin-based system.
    • Thus, it is likely that phototrophy independently evolved at least twice, once in bacteria and once in archaea.

  • Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria

    • Phototrophy is the process by which organisms trap light energy (photons) and store it as chemical energy in the form of ATP and/or reducing power in NADPH.
    • There are two major types of phototrophy: chlorophyll-based chlorophototrophy and rhodopsin-based retinalophototrophy.
    • Chlorophototrophy can further be divided into oxygenic photosynthesis and anoxygenic phototrophy.

  • Chloroflexus and Relatives

    • While oxygenic phototrophs use water as an electron donor for phototrophy, Chloroflexus uses reduced sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, thiosulfate, or elemental sulfur.