The living world is rich and varied. As you know, it is divided into four kingdoms: Bacteria, Plants, Animals and Fungi. There are huge gaps between these groups. But there is something in common between them, for example, in each kingdom there are saprophytes and parasites. Let's look into all this in more detail.
Separation of living beings by type of food
Every living organism needs certain substances or energy from outside to ensure its existence. The process of consuming these resources is called nutrition.
According to the way of nutrition, all living organisms are divided into two types:
- autotrophs;
- heterotrophs.
Autotrophs are organisms capable of independently producing the organic substances they need from inorganic ones. These include most plants that get their food from carbon dioxide and water with the help of solar energy.
Heterotrophs are creatures that need ready-made organic substances. This is a huge group of living organisms, within which a lot of classifications are provided. Heterotrophs are divided into biotrophs and saprotrophs. The first feed on living organisms:animals or plants. They also include parasites that have adapted to such a life when their host is both food and home for them.
Saprotrophs get food from dead creatures or their secretions (including excrement). This group includes bacteria, plants, fungi (saprophytes) and even animals (saprophages). They, in turn, are also divided into different subgroups: detritophages (feeding on detritus), necrophages (consuming animal corpses), coprophages (feeding on feces) and others.
Definition
The word itself is borrowed from another language, more precisely, it is a combination of two Greek words: sapros - "rotten" and phyton - "plant". In biology, saprophytes are fungi, plants and bacteria that consume dead tissues of animals and plants as food, as well as products excreted by those in the process of life. They are distributed everywhere - in water, earth, air, as well as in the organisms of living beings.
Most often, saprophytes are individuals that do not harm their owner. A person does not even realize what a huge number of different microorganisms are constantly on his skin and inside the body, while not causing any diseases. However, under the influence of negative factors (decreased immunity, an excessive increase in the number of microbes), everything can change, and saprophytes can cause an infectious disease.
Living World
Saprophytes occupy an important place in the cycle of substances in nature, breaking down complex organic substances into simple ones, cleaning the world from rottinganimal remains. Who belongs to this group of workers? Saprophytes are quite widespread in the world. Examples of them can be found in every kingdom. They are found in abundance among bacteria (single-celled protozoa), among fungi (from molds to mushrooms consumed by humans), among plants (from algae to flowering plants such as orchids).
Saprophytes are also found among animals (we will also name examples of them). However, then it would be more correct to call them saprotrophs or saprophages. In the animal kingdom, saprophytes include some insects (dung beetles, leather beetles, larvae of flies and other insects), earthworms, and many crustaceans (crayfish, bottom amphipods). Among the large representatives of the animal world are birds (ravens, vultures, vultures), some fish and various animals (hyenas, bears and everything that has to eat carrion).
Saprophytic bacteria
Bacteria are such small organisms that they can only be seen with the most powerful microscopes magnifying hundreds of times. And although in ordinary life a person is not given to see them, one has to face the results of their activities every day. So, thanks to them, the existence of fermented milk products and wine is possible. And while some bacteria cause infectious diseases, others are of great benefit to humans.
Among them are, for example, some Escherichia coli and bifidobacteria that live in the human digestive tract. They help the body absorb nutrients and fight pathogenic flora.
Saprophyte plants
Although plants are autotrophs (that is, they create their own food with the help of sunlight), this does not prevent many of them from being saprophytes to some extent at the same time. They need additional organic matter from the soil to survive.
Among plants, saprophytes are pineapple, orchids, begonias and some cacti, as well as many mosses, ferns and algae.
Saprophyte mushrooms
Mushrooms are the oldest inhabitants of the Earth, their history goes back at least one billion years. They are so unusual that for a long time biologists could not decide on their classification and did not know to which kingdom they belong. Indeed, fungi have features that are characteristic of both animals and plants. As a result, they were separated into a separate kingdom.
Mushrooms are unicellular or multicellular living heterotrophic organisms whose cells have a nucleus (eukaryotes). All mushrooms feed by absorbing ready-made organic substances from the environment, preliminarily releasing special dissolving enzymes, i.e. digestion occurs outside the body.
According to the way of feeding, mushrooms are divided into three broad groups: parasites, saprophytes and symbionts. This division is also characteristic of other kingdoms. Parasites have become accustomed to life on other living organisms (or even inside), feeding entirely on them. Among ediblemushroom parasite is known to all of us honey agaric.
Symbiont mushrooms, although they live at the expense of other organisms, but at the same time benefit them by releasing the necessary minerals and processing waste. Among them are porcini mushroom, boletus, butterdish, camelina, boletus, flywheel and many others.
Mushrooms that feed on organic matter left over from dead animals and plants or their secretions are called saprophytes. Examples of such mushrooms that are well known to us: morels, stitches, champignons, raincoats. Also in this category is a huge number of molds that affect products.
In order to provide themselves with the necessary nutrition as much as possible, all these mushrooms have the appropriate structure - long and powerful myceliums, completely immersed in the substrate that is edible for them.
Saprophyte mites
These small organisms are our constant neighbors living in house dust. In large quantities, they are right in our bed - in pillows, mattresses and blankets. By themselves, they are incapable of causing harm, because they do not bite a person and are not carriers of any infections. However, their waste products can be dangerous for allergy sufferers.
Saprophytes and parasites are able to completely restore their population in a short period of time, so you should not pursue methods that promise to completely get rid of them. Subject to basic hygiene procedures (laundry, timelyreplacement of mattresses and pillows, wet cleaning of the premises) it is possible to maintain the number of harmful saprophyte mites at a relatively safe level for he alth.
Conclusion
As we have learned, saprophytes are organisms that support their existence by eating dead organic material. Most of them are harmless, many are useful and only a few are dangerous. Be that as it may, their existence in nature is simply necessary, it is they who provide the circulation of substances and energy, without which life would stop.
