OBJECTIVE LIFE SCIENCE
ECOLOGY
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Autotrophic only
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Heterotrophic only
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Saprotrophic only
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Autotrophic and heterotrophic
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Detailed explanation-1: -Euglena’s nutrition is photoautotrophic. In the absence of light, it can obtain nutrition from dead and decaying organic matter in the substrate by secreting digestive enzymes (saprophytic feeding).
Detailed explanation-2: -Euglenoids are plant-like in the sense that most of them have a chloroplast and hence, chlorophyll, and are autotrophs. However, they are also animal-like because when light is not available, they can ingest food in ways that might resemble some protozoans. In other words, euglenoids can be facultative heterotrophs.
Detailed explanation-3: -Euglena can also gain nutrients by absorbing them across their cell membrane, hence they become heterotrophic when light is not available, and when they cannot photosynthesize. It is because of this they are also called mixotrophs.