Virology and Immunology

Food and Nutrition

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For plants and animals, food is essential for survival. The plant is autotrophic. They prepare their own food and give some of it to other creatures. Animals are heterotrophic, but they cannot make their own nutrition and get it from other plants or animals. You make your own food and you rely on others for food. Plants need about 20 elements known as light, water, and essential elements to meet all biochemical needs. Some plants are unable to produce their own food and must obtain food from parasites or saprotrophic external sources. Some plants are mutualistic symbiotic symbionts, epiphytes, or carnivorous plants. Most animals get their nutrients by ingesting other organisms. The molecules required by animals are amino acids, lipid molecules, nucleotides and monosaccharides, and the foods that animals eat are composed of proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates. Animals convert these macromolecules into simple macromolecules that are essential for maintaining cell function. Digestion and absorption are required to convert ingested food into nutrients. During digestion, food particles are broken down into smaller components that are later absorbed by the body.

Related associations and societies

Canadian Society for Virology, German Society for Virology, Italian Society for Virology, Spanish Society for Virology, Swedish Society for Virology, American Society for Virology, Australasian Virology Society, Max Planck Society, Brazilian Society for Virology.