Bacterial Mutants That Require Supplemental Nutrients in Their Growth Media

Question

Bacterial mutants that require supplemental nutrients in their growth media are called:
A)autotrophs.
B)heterotrophs.
C)prototrophs.
D)omnitrophs.
E)auxotrophs.

Accepted Answer

Auxotrophs are bacterial mutants that have lost the ability to synthesize certain essential nutrients and therefore require supplementation of those nutrients in their growth media. Autotrophs can synthesize all necessary nutrients from inorganic sources, while heterotrophs require organic sources of nutrients. Prototrophs are bacteria that can synthesize all essential nutrients and do not require any supplementation in their growth media. Omnitrophs is not a commonly used term in microbiology.