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| Types of Heterotrophic Nutrition - Saprophytic |
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| 'Sapros' refers to rotten and 'trophic' refers to food. Saprotrophic nutrition is the process by which the organisms feed on dead and decaying matter. The food is digested outside the cells or even the body of the organism - extracellular digestion. The organism secretes digestive juices that contain enzymes directly on to the food. The digestion makes the food soluble and it is then absorbed by the organism. |
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| Examples of saprophytes: |
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| (plants which have saprotrophic nutrition) are Rhizopus (bread mould), Mucor (pin mould), Yeast, Agaricus (mushroom), many bacteria etc. |
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| Examples of saprozoans: |
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| (animals which have saprotrophic nutrition) are Mastigamoeba and Chilomonas. The digestive juices are secreted by the cell membranes which means the general body surface as they are single-celled protozoans. |
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| Saprotrophs are different from detritus feeders which do not digest their food outside the body. |
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