Before entering fully into the definition of saprophyte, it is necessary to know the etymological origin of the aforementioned term and that leads us to determine that it is the result of the sum of two Greek words:
-The adjective "saprós", which is equivalent to "rotten ”.
-The noun “phytos”, which can be translated as “plant”.
Saprophyte is the adjective used to describe organisms whose diet consists of ingesting organic substances in a state of decomposition. The term is also used to refer to this kind of food.
Saprophytes, in this way, are nourished from the residues that come from different plant or animal organisms. They can eat excrement, dead animals, or dry leaves, to name a few possibilities.
Saprophytic organisms use decaying organic substances to obtain the energy they need to live. Some organisms are obligate saprophytes since they can only obtain nutrients in this way, while others are facultative saprophytes because they tend to nourish themselves through different means and resort to saprotrophy only in certain stages.
Although they present different characteristics from each other, saprophytes usually have cells whose properties allow them to develop osmtrophic-type nutrition. This means that they are responsible for absorbing nutrients through osmosis.
Saprophytes often secrete enzymes to hydrolyze organic molecules found in waste. In this way, it releases biomolecules that are soluble and absorbed through osmosis thanks to the action of its cells.
In addition to all the above, it is worth knowing that those known as saprophytic fungi take on a special role, which are those that develop their life on what is inert organic matter. This means that the way they feed is to undertake the solubilization of the material on which they end up settling.
There are several types of saprophytic fungi, highlighting those that we expose below:
-Those that grow on animal excrement, specifically, it is usual that they are on the excrement of herbivorous animals. Examples of mushrooms in this category are Panaeolus or Pilobolus.
-Those that develop on the wood or the remains of it, such as fistulina hepatica, ganoderma lucidum, piptoporus betulinus or fomes fomento.
-Those who make their living on meadows or pastures.
-Those that develop a life cycle on what would be organic matter that is charred as a result of a forest fire or similar. These can also have the peculiarity that they grow on the remains that may have been left from bonfires, either carried out as part of leisure activities or within actions of forestry-type work.
The existence of saprophytes is essential in the food chain as they help the development of decomposition. This allows them to contribute to the fertility of the soils.
It should be noted that scavengers, such as vultures, are often classified as saprophytes because they feed on the decomposing corpses of other species.