An organotroph is an
organism that obtains
hydrogen or
electrons from organic substrates. This term is used in
microbiology to classify and describe organisms based on how they obtain electrons for their respiration processes. Some organotrophs such as
animals and many
bacteria, are also
heterotrophs. Organotrophs can be either anaerobic or aerobic.
^Lwoff, A., C.B. van Niel, P.J. Ryan, and E.L. Tatum (1946). Nomenclature of nutritional types of microorganisms. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology (5th edn.), Vol. XI, The Biological Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, pp. 302–303,
[1].