2.4 Adaptations for nutrition Flashcards
Define autotrophic.
• An organism that produces its own food
• It manufactures complex organic compounds from simpler inorganic molecules such as water and carbon dioxide
Name the two types of autotrophic organisms.
• Photoautotrophic
• Heterotrophic
What is a photoautotrophic organism?
An organism which obtains its nutrition through photosynthesis.
What is a chemoautotrophic organism?
An organism which obtains its nutrition through inorganic molecules, such as sulfur, in the absence of light.
Define heterotrophic.
An organism that cannot produce its own food. It obtains energy by feeding on organic compounds produced by other organisms.
What is a saprotroph?
An organism that feeds by extracellular digestion, e.g. fungi.
Describe extracellular digestion by saprotrophs.
• Release enzymes which catalyse the breakdown of dead plant and animal material into simpler organic matter
• Absorb the products of digestion
What is meant by the term ‘holozoic’?
Describes a heterotrophic organism that internally digests food substances.
What processes does holozoic nutrition involve?
Ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and egestion.
Define ingestion.
The process by which organisms take food into their bodies.
Define digestion.
The processes by which large, insoluble molecules are broken down into smaller, soluble molecules that can be absorbed across cell membranes.
Name the two types of digestion.
• Mechanical digestion
• Chemical digestion
What is mechanical digestion?
• Type of digestion that involves physically breaking down food material into smaller pieces
• Increases the total surface area for chemical digestion
What is chemical digestion?
A type of digestion that involves breaking down large, insoluble molecules into smaller, soluble molecules using enzymes.
What is assimilation?
The synthesis of biological compounds from absorbed simpler molecules.
Define absorption.
The movement of useful substances into the bloodstream.
Define egestion.
The removal of undigested waste material from the body.
Describe how unicellular organisms obtain nutrients.
• Ingestion via phagocytosis
• Intracellular digestion (using hydrolytic enzymes) breaks down large, insoluble molecules into smaller, soluble molecules
• Products of digestion pass into the cytoplasm by diffusion and active transport
• Undigested material removed by exocytosis
What is a Hydra?
A small, multicellular, freshwater organism of the phylum Cnidaria.
Describe the structure of Hydra.
• Basic, undifferentiated sac-like gut
• Single opening, surrounded by tentacles, that serves as a mouth and an anus
• Single gut cavity (known as the enteron)
Outline the process of digestion in Hydra.
• Hydrolytic enzymes secreted into the enteron by the endodermis
• Extracellular digestion partially digests food molecules
• Partially digested food transported, via phagocytosis, into endodermal cells where intracellular digestion takes place
• Undigested material egested from the enteron via the single opening
Describe the shape of the gut in more complex organisms.
Tube-like with two openings, a mouth for ingestion and anus for egestion.
What type of diet is the human gut adapted to?
An omnivorous diet consisting of plant and animal material.
State the names of the different layers of the gut wall.
• Epithelium
• Mucosa
• Submucosa
• Muscle layer
• Serosa
What is the epithelium?
A single layer of cells that line the gut wall.
Describe the structure of the mucosa layer of the gut wall.
• Mucous membrane lining the gut wall
• Contains glands that secrete digestive enzymes, mucus, and an acid or alkaline liquid that provides an optimum pH
Describe the structure of the sub-mucosa layer of the gut wall.
• Layer of connective tissue below the mucous membrane
• Contains blood vessels and lymph for the transport of digestion product and glands that secrete an alkaline fluid
Describe the muscle layer of the human gut.
A layer of circular and longitudinal muscles beneath the submucosa.
Explain the action of circular and longitudinal muscles in peristalsis.
The contraction of the circular muscle behind the bolus of food and the relaxation of the longitudinal muscle in front forces food down the gut.
What is the serosa?
The tough, protective layer that surrounds the gut.
What is the buccal cavity?
The oral cavity through which food enters the body.
Which type(s) of digestion take place in the buccal cavity?
Mechanical digestion and chemical digestion of starch.
What is the normal pH range of the buccal cavity?
pH 6.5 to 7.5
What is the function of the teeth?
Crush and grind food into smaller pieces, increasing its surface area.
What is the tongue?
A muscular organ in the buccal cavity that is vital in the chewing and swallowing of food.
Describe the function of salivary glands.
Secrete amylase, mineral ions and mucus into the buccal cavity.