Autotrophic Nutrition is mainly associated with

The correct answer is Algae.

Important Points

• Autotrophs manufacture their own food.
• The most known example is plants that fulfill their carbon and energy requirements by photosynthesis.
• Algae have photosynthetic machinery ultimately derived from cyanobacteria that produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Fungi, Protozoa, and Virus do not manufacture food. So, options 1, 2, and 4 are NOT correct.

Additional Information

Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food, using materials from inorganic sources by using basic energy sources such as sunlight.

• Plants are the main example of autotrophs, using photosynthesis.
• Some autotrophs, such as green plants and algae, are phototrophs, they convert electromagnetic energy from sunlight into chemical energy in the form of glucose. So, Spinach, Tomato, Banana are also examples of autotrophs.

Mode of Nutrition:

Autotropic: The mode of nutrition in which organisms make food themselves from simple substances is called autotrophic (auto = self; trophos = nourishment) nutrition. Therefore, plants are called autotrophs. Ex- Plants, Tress, algae, etc.

Heterotrophic: Animals and most other organisms take in ready-made food prepared by the plants. They are called heterotrophs (heteros = other).

• Holozoic: Animals who take in solid food and breakdown it inside their body like animals, amoeba, etc. comes under the holozoic mode of nutrition.
• Parasitic: Parasites live inside or outside the other organism (host) and get their nutrition from the host. Ex - Ticks, Cuscuta (dodder), mosquito, etc.
• Saprophytic: In this mode of nutrition the organisms take in nutrients in solution form from dead and decaying matter is called saprotrophic nutrition. Ex- Fungi grows on pickles, leather, etc.