What Animals Eat and Lives According to Their Structure Learning Objectives Distinguish essential, beneficial, macro- and micro-food requirements for plants and animals Predict the symptoms of nutrient deficiencies in plants and animals Draw the diverseness of adaptations for acquisition of nutrients in plants and animals Living Cells Need Materials to Grow: Nutrients The information beneath was adapted from OpenStax Biology 22.iii, OpenStax Biology 23.2 , and OpenStax Biology 24.1 Macronutrients Cells are essentially a well-organized assemblage of macromolecules and water. Recall that macromolecules are produced by the polymerization of smaller units chosen monomers. For cells to build all of the molecules required to sustain life, they need certain substances, collectively called nutrients . When prokaryotes grow, they obtain t