MIXOTROPHY IN MICROORGANISMS: ECOLOGICAL AND CYTOPHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Mixotrophy is the ability to combine autotrophic and heterotrophic modes of nutrition. It is widely spread in various microorganisms, particularly in such important plankton groups as dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria. Mixotrophy has a significant impact on our comprehension of the matter and energy flows in marine ecosystems, and therefore, it is an object of much attention for several recent decades. Nevertheless, the precise data on the balance of auto- and heterotrophy during the mixotrophic growth have been absent so far, which is due, first of all, to insufficient understanding of physiological and molecular ground of this phenomenon. In this review we discuss some ecological and cytophysiological aspects of investigation of mixotrophy in microorganisms as well as possible reasons for relatively slow progress in this area.