A mixotroph is an organism that uses a mix of different sources of energy and carbon, instead of having a single trophic mode. Mixotrophs are situated somewhere on the continuum from complete autotrophy to complete heterotrophy. It is estimated that mixotrophs comprise more than half of all microscopic plankton.[Leles S G et al, (2017). Oceanic protists with different forms of acquired phototrophy display contrasting biogeographies and abundance, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.]
Possible combinations include phototroph and , besides lithotroph and , the latter including osmotrophy, Phagocytosis and myzocytosis. Mixotrophs can be either eukaryote or prokaryote.
A given trophic mode of a mixotroph organism is called obligate when it is indispensable for its growth and maintenance; a trophic mode is facultative when used as a supplemental source.
Obligate or facultative
Organisms may employ mixotrophy
obligately or
facultatively.
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Obligate mixotrophy: To support growth and maintenance, an organism must utilize both heterotrophic and autotrophic means.
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Obligate autotrophy with facultative heterotrophy: Autotrophy alone is sufficient for growth and maintenance, but heterotrophy may be used as a supplementary strategy when autotrophic energy is not enough, for example, when light intensity is low.
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Facultative autotrophy with obligate heterotrophy: Heterotrophy is sufficient for growth and maintenance, but autotrophy may be used to supplement, for example, when prey availability is very low.
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Facultative mixotrophy: Maintenance and growth may be obtained by heterotrophic or autotrophic means alone, and mixotrophy is used only when necessary.
Plants
Amongst plants, mixotrophy classically applies to carnivorous, hemi-parasitic and myco-heterotrophic species. However, this characterisation as mixotrophic could be extended to a higher number of clades as research demonstrates that organic forms of nitrogen and phosphorus—such as DNA, proteins, amino-acids or carbohydrates—are also part of the nutrient supplies of a number of plant species.
Mycoheterotrophic plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi, which provide them with organic carbon and nutrients from nearby photosynthetic plants or soil. They often lack chlorophyll or have reduced photosynthetic capacity. An example is Indian pipe, a white, non-photosynthetic plant that relies heavily on fungal networks for nutrients. Pinesap also taps into fungal networks for sustenance, similar to Indian pipe. Certain orchids, such as Corallorhiza, depend on fungi for carbon and nutrients while developing photosynthetic capabilities (especially in their early stages).
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their Plant nutrition from trapping and consuming
Hemiparasitic plants are partially parasitic, attaching to the roots or stems of host plants to extract water, nutrients, or organic compounds while still performing photosynthesis. Examples are mistletoe (absorbs water and nutrients from host trees but also photosynthesizes), Castilleja (connects to the roots of other plants for nutrients while maintaining photosynthetic leaves), and Yellow rattle (a root parasite that supplements its nutrition by tapping into host plants).
Some epiphytic plants, which are plants that grow on other plants, absorb organic matter, such as decaying debris or animal waste, through specialized structures while still photosynthesizing. For example, some have tank-like leaf structures that collect water and organic debris, absorbing nutrients through their leaves. Also, some epiphytic orchids absorb nutrients from organic matter caught in their aerial roots.
Some plants incorporate algae or cyanobacteria, which provide photosynthetically derived carbon, while the plant also absorbs external nutrients. For example, Azolla filiculoides, is a floating fern that hosts the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria Anabaena in its leaves, supplementing nutrient intake while photosynthesizing. This has led to the plant being dubbed a "super-plant", as it can readily colonise areas of freshwater, and grow at great speed - doubling its biomass in as little as 1.9 days.
Animals
Mixotrophy is less common among animals than among plants and microbes, but there are many examples of mixotrophic
Invertebrate and at least one example of a mixotrophic
vertebrate.
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The spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, also hosts microalgae within its cells. Its embryos have been found to have symbiotic algae living inside them,
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Reef-building Coral (Scleractinia), like many other Cnidaria (e.g. jellyfish, anemones), host endosymbiotic microalgae within their cells, thus making them mixotrophs.
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The Oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis, can obtain energy from sunlight absorbed by its cuticle.
Zooxanthellae.jpg|Zooxanthellae is a photosynthetic algae that lives inside hosts like coral.
Anthopleura xanthogrammica 1.jpg| Anthopleura xanthogrammica gains its green colour from Zoochlorella.
Mastigias papua.webmhd.webm|The spotted jelly, a mixotrophic jellyfish, lives in trophic mutualism with zooxanthella, a unicellular organism capable of photosynthesis.
Microorganisms
Bacteria and archaea
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Paracoccus pantotrophus is a bacterium that can live chemoorganoheterotrophically, whereby many organic compounds can be metabolized. Also, a facultative lithotroph metabolism is possible, as seen in colorless sulfur bacteria (some Thiobacillus), whereby sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, elemental sulfur, or thiosulfate are oxidized to sulfate. The sulfur compounds serve as electron donors and are consumed to produce ATP. The carbon source for these organisms can be carbon dioxide (autotrophy) or organic carbon (heterotrophy).
Organoheterotrophy can occur under Aerobic organism or under Aerobic organism conditions; lithoautotrophy takes place aerobically.[ PDF]
Classifying protists
Several categorization schemes have been suggested to characterize sub-domains within mixotrophy.
Phototrophy verses phagotrophy
Consider the example of a marine protist with heterotrophic and photosynthetic capabilities:
In the breakdown put forward by Jones,
there are four mixotrophic groups based on relative roles of phagotrophy and phototrophy.
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A: Heterotrophy (phagotrophy) is the norm, and phototrophy is only used when prey concentrations are limiting.
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B: Phototrophy is the dominant strategy, and phagotrophy is employed as a supplement when light is limiting.
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C: Phototrophy results in substances for both growth and ingestion; phagotrophy is employed when light is limiting.
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D: Phototrophy is most common nutrition type, phagotrophy only used during prolonged dark periods, when light is extremely limiting.
By efficiency
An alternative scheme by Stoeker
also takes into account the role of nutrients and growth factors, and includes mixotrophs that have a photosynthetic symbiont or who retain chloroplasts from their prey. This scheme characterizes mixotrophs by their efficiency.
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Type 1: "Ideal mixotrophs" that use prey and sunlight equally well
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Type 2: Supplement phototrophic activity with food consumption
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Type 3: Primarily heterotrophic, use phototrophic activity during times of very low prey abundance.
Constitutive mixotrophs
Another scheme, proposed by Mitra
et al., specifically classifies marine planktonic mixotrophs so that mixotrophy can be included in ecosystem modeling.
[ Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.] This scheme classified organisms as:
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Constitutive mixotrophs (CMs): phagotrophic organisms that are inherently able also to photosynthesize
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Non-constitutive mixotrophs (NCMs): phagotrophic organisms that must ingest prey to attain the ability to photosynthesize. NCMs are further broken down into:
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Specific non-constitutive mixotrophs (SNCMs), which only gain the ability to photosynthesize from a specific prey item (either by retaining plastids only in kleptoplastidy or by retaining whole prey cells in endosymbiosis)
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General non-constitutive mixotrophs (GNCM), which can gain the ability to photosynthesize from a variety of prey items
File:Phaeocystis symbionts within an acantharian host.png|Acantharian radiolarian hosts Phaeocystis symbionts.
File:Ecomare - schuimalg strand (7037-schuimalg-phaeocystis-ogb).jpg|White Phaeocystis algal foam washing up on a beach
File:Paramecium bursaria.jpg|A single-celled ciliate with green zoochlorellae living inside
File:Euglena mutabilis - 400x - 1 (10388739803) (cropped).jpg| Euglena, a photosynthetic flagellate
File:Euglenoid movement.jpg|Euglenoid
File:Acantharia confocal micrograph 2.png| Fluorescent micrograph of an acantharian with Phaeocystis symbionts fluorescing red (chlorophyll)
Marine food webs
Mixotrophs are especially common in marine environments, where the levels of energy from the sun and nutrients in the water can vary greatly. For example, in nutrient-poor (
oligotrophic) waters, mixotrophic
phytoplankton supplement their diet by consuming bacteria.
The effects of mixotrophy on organic and inorganic introduce a metabolic plasticity which blurs the lines between producers and consumers.[.]
See also
Notes
External links
