Famously, humans will have a go at eating anything, which is why they’re considered to be omnivores, and they are therefore omnivorous *. However, information concerning how such dietary preferences came to be, and when...
Pyroloids, forest sub-shrubs of the Ericaceae family, are an important model for their mixotrophic nutrition, which mixes carbon from photosynthesis and from their mycorrhizal fungi. They have medical uses but are...
Pyroloid mixotrophy does not respond plastically to ageing or to light level. This contrasts with the usual view of a convergent evolution with orchids.
Autotrophy, though common among plants, isn’t the only way plants make a living. Some plants have lost all photosynthetic abilities and instead rely on symbiotic relationships with fungi. Even some leafy green plants...
A little while ago we looked at auxotrophic algae getting a helping hand from bacteria; now we’ll take a look at ‘proper plants’ that get a little help from animals (in a sort of mixotrophy). But it’s not exactly...