Describing organisms or molecules that have an affinity for or are attracted to carbon or carbon-containing compounds.
From Latin carbo (coal, carbon) + Greek -philus (loving, attracted to). The term was coined to describe biological systems that preferentially accumulate or bind carbon compounds.
Some bacteria are carbophilous specialists—they evolved to feast on carbon compounds that would poison most life forms. This ability makes them invaluable for cleaning up oil spills and industrial contamination in nature.
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