che·mo·troph

(kē′mō-trŏf′, -trōf′)

An organism that oxidizes chemical compounds to obtain energy.

che′mo·troph′ic adj.

che·mot′ro·phy (kē-mŏt′rə-fē) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

che•mo•troph

(ˈki məˌtrɒf, -ˌtroʊf, ˌkɛm ə-)

n.

any organism that oxidizes inorganic or organic compounds as its principal energy source.

[1970–75]

che`mo•troph′ic, adj.

Mentioned in

-troph

References in periodicals archive

Since most of the cells in a multicellular organism would be far removed from the surface where these elements and compounds were readily available (especially in the Precambrian oceans, where this process occurred), this development meant that ultimately, the complex organisms that evolved from this primitive chemotroph cell had to have: 1) a "digestive system" to get water and the nutrients into the body and break the latter down to small enough molecules to move them about.

Evolution is not the enemy; intelligent design is not the solution

Chemotroph (Chapter 9)--An organism that gets its energy from breaking chemical bonds in either organic or inorganic compounds.

Glossary

On Earth, such water-rock interactions provide fuel for chemotrophs -- organisms that obtain energy by breaking down chemicals in their environments -- and support vast ecosystems in the ocean's deepest, darkest depths.

Ingredients for life discovered gushing out of Saturn's moon

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