Question

Fungi have saprophytic nutrition. But, what is it exactly? How does it work?

Answer 1

A saprotroph (or saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds. Since saprotrophs consume external food sources rather than make their own food, they are considered a type of heterotroph.

Many species of fungi, bacteria, and protista are saprotrophs. Animal scavengers, such as dung beetles and vultures, are also sometimes referred to as saprotrophs, but are more commonly called saprophages. In food webs, saprotrophs generally play the role of decomposers. Saprotrophs are often eaten by consumers and therefore commonly play important roles as recyclers in ecosystem energy flow and biogeochemical cycles.

Saprophyte is an older term that is now considered obsolete. The suffix -phyte means "plant". However, there are no truly saprotrophic organisms that are embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic orchids and monotropes, are now known to be parasites on fungi. These species are termed myco-heterotrophs.

Answer 2

In saprophytic nutrition, the saprophytes carry out the digestion externally and they take in the digested form of nutrition.

They secrete their enzymes/digestive juices onto the food which is outside their body. The enzymes breakdown/digest the various nutrients outside the body of the saprophyte.

After the digestion is complete, the saprophyte then takes in the nutrition through the process of endocytosis.