WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pro•to•troph
(prō′tə trof′, -trōf′),USA pronunciation n. [Biol.]
- Ecologya microorganism that has the same nutritional requirements as the parent organism. Cf. auxotroph.
- Ecologyan organism or cell capable of synthesizing all its metabolites from inorganic material, requiring no organic nutrients.
- back formation from prototrophic 1945–50
'prototroph' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):