lithotroph

Lithotrophs are organisms, primarily bacteria, that synthesize all their cellular components using carbon dioxide as their carbon source. They generate energy by oxidizing inorganic compounds, such as ammonia, sulfur, or ferrous ions, with oxygen as the electron acceptor. This process is known as chemoautotrophy.12

Examples of lithotrophs include:
* Nitrosomonas europaea, which oxidizes ammonia to nitrite.1
* Nitrobacter winogradskyi, which oxidizes nitrite to nitrate.1
* Thiobacillus species, which oxidize sulfur compounds to sulfates.13
* A. ferrooxidans, which oxidizes ferrous ions to ferric ions.1

These bacteria are crucial in various biogeochemical cycles, such as the sulfur cycle. Unlike photoautotrophs (like plants) that use light for energy, lithotrophs rely solely on inorganic chemical reactions.32