Lithoautotrophy

Lithoautotrophy is a special type of chemoautotrophy found in Archaea and Bacteria. Lithoautotrophic organisms utilize inorganic compounds as energy sources. The word "lithoautotrophy" means "to feed it- or oneself from stone". In ancient Greek, "lithos" means stone or rock, "autos" self, and "trophein" to feed.

References

* [http://www.iu-bremen.de/discussion/attachment.php?s=78554fa3d0bc304e8d0a4b05ea8c71d3&postid=69823 Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycles: Chemosynthesis]