CHAPTER

02
biological
classification
Aristotle’s classification
• Aristotle was the earliest to attempt a more scientific basis for classification
of organisms. - He classified plants into trees, shrubs & herbs and animals
into 2 groups- those with red blood & without red blood.

Linnaeus’s Twokingdom classification

• Linnaeus (1758) classified organisms into Two Kingdoms- Kingdom Plantae &
Kingdom Animalia. Drawbacks of 2-kingdom classification: Prokaryotes
(Bacteria, cyanobacteria) and eukaryotes (fungi, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms
& angiosperms) were included under ‘Plants’ based on the presence of cell wall
But they are widely differed in other characteristics.
• It included the unicellular and the multicellular organisms in same group.
E.g. Chlamydomonas and Spirogyra were placed under algae. It did not
differentiate between the heterotrophic fungi and the autotrophic green plants.
Fungi have chitinous cell wall while the green plants have cellulosic cell wall.

Five Kingdom Classification

• It is proposed by R.H. Whittaker (1969).
• It includes Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae & Animalia.
• This is based on cell structure, thallus organization, mode of nutrition,
reproduction and phylogenetic relationships.

Characteristics of the five kingdoms

Characters Monero Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
Cell type Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic
Non-cellular
Present (Chitin & Present
Cell wall (polysaccharide + Present in some Abs ent
polysaccharides ) (Cellulos e)
amino acid)
Nuclear membrane Abs ent Present Present Present Present
Multicellular, Tissue/organ/
Body organisation Cellular Cellular Tissue/organ
loos e tissue organ s ystem
Autotrophic (photos
ynthetic & chemos Autotrophic Heterotrophic Heterotrophic
Autotrophic
Mode of nutrition ynthetic) and (photos ynthetic) (saprophytic or (holozoic,
(photos ynthetic)
heterotrophic and heterotrophic parasitic) saprophytic etc.)
(saprophyte/paras ite)

• Bacteria are the most abundant microorganisms.

• Hundreds of bacteria are present in a handful of soil.
• They also live in extreme habitats such as hot springs, deserts, snow & deep oceans.
Many are parasites.
• Based on shape, bacteria are 4 types: Coccus (Spherical), Bacillus (Rod-shaped),
Vibrium (Comma-shaped) & Spirillum (Spiral).
• Some bacteria are autotrophic (synthesize food from inorganic substrates). Majority
are heterotrophs (they do not synthesize food but depend on other organisms or on
dead organic matter for food).

I. Archaebacteria
• They live in harshest habitats such as extreme salty areas (halophiles), hot springs
(thermoacidophiles) and marshy areas (methanogens).
• Archaebacteria have a different cell wall structure for their survival in extreme conditions.
• Methanogens are present in the guts of ruminant animals (cows, buffaloes etc).
They produce methane (biogas) from the dung of these animals

II. Eubacteria (‘true bacteria’)

• They have a rigid cell wall and a flagellum (if motile).
• They include Autotrophs (photosynthetic and chemosynthetic) and Heterotrophs.

a) Photosynthetic autotrophs (E.g. Cyanobacteria):

• They have chlorophyll a similar to green plants.
• Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are unicellular, colonial or filamentous,
marine or terrestrial algae.
• The colonies are generally surrounded by gelatinous sheath.
• They often form blooms in polluted water bodies. - Some of them
fix atmospheric nitrogen in specialized cells (heterocysts).
E.g., Nostoc & Anabaena.

b) Chemosynthetic autotrophs:
• They oxidize inorganic substances such as nitrates, nitrites & ammonia
and use the released energy for ATP production. - They help in recycling
nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and sulphur. c. Heterotrophic
• They are the most abundant in nature
- The majority are important decomposers.

Impacts of Heterotrophic bacteria on human affairs:

• They are used to make curd from milk.
• Production of antibiotics.
• Fixing nitrogen in legume roots etc.
• Some are pathogens causing diseases. E.g. Cholera, typhoid, tetanus
and citrus canker.

Reproduction in Bacteria:
• Bacteria reproduce mainly by fission.
• Under unfavourable conditions, they produce
• They also reproduceby a sort of sexualreproduction (DNA transfer from
one bacterium to other).
Mycoplasmas are organisms without a cell wall. They are the smallest
living cells. They can survive without oxygen. Many are pathogenic in
animals and plants

2. KINGDOM PROTISTA
• It includes single cell eukaryotes
• The cell contains a well-defined nucleus and other
membrane-bound organelles. Some have flagella or cilia.
• Protists are primarily aquatic.
• It is a link with plants, animals and fungi.
• They reproduce asexually and sexually (cell fusion and zygote formation).
• Protista includes Chrysophytes, Dianoflagellates, Euglenoids, Slime moulds
and Protozoans.

I. Chrysophytes
• Found in fresh water and marine environments.
• Microscopic and float passively in water currents (plankton).
• Most of them are photosynthetic.
• It includes diatoms & golden algae (desmids).
• Diatoms: They have siliceous cell walls forming two thin overlapping shells,
which fit together as in a soap box. The cell wall deposit of diatoms over
billions of years in their habitat is known as ‘diatomaceous earth’. This is used in
polishing, filtration of oils and syrups.
• Diatoms are the chief ‘producers’ in the oceans.

II. Dianoflagellates
• Mostly marine and photosynthetic.
• They appear yellow, green, brown, blue or red based on the main pigments
present in their cells.
• The cell wall has stiff cellulose plates on the outer surface.
• Most of them have 2 flagella; one lies longitudinally and the other transversely
in a furrow between the wall plates.
• Red dianoflagellates (E.g. Gonyaulax) undergo rapid multiplication so that the
sea appears red (red tides). They release toxins that kill marine animals like fishes

III. Euglenoids
• Mainly fresh water organisms found in stagnant water.
• Instead of a cell wall, they have a protein rich layer called pellicle.
It makes their body flexible
• They are photosynthetic in the presence of sunlight. In the absence of sunlight,
they behave like heterotrophs by predating on smaller organisms.
• The pigments are identical to those in higher plants.
• E.g. Euglena.
IV. Slime Moulds
• They are saprophytic protists.
• The body moves along decaying twigs and leaves engulfing organic material.
• Under suitable conditions, they form an aggregation called plasmodium.
It may spread over several feet.
• Under unfavourable conditions, plasmodium differentiates and forms fruiting
bodies bearing spores at their tips. Spores have true walls. They are highly
resistant and survive for many years. Spores are dispersed by air.

V. Protozoans
• They are heterotrophs (predators or parasites).
• They are the primitive relatives of animals.
• There are 4 major groups of protozoans:
a) Amoeboid protozoans: They live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil.
They move and capture prey by putting out pseudopodia
(false feet). E.g. Amoeba. Marine forms have silica shells
on their surface. Some of them are parasites. E.g. Entamoeba.
b) Flagellated protozoans: They are either free-living or parasitic. They have flagella.
The parasitic forms cause diseases such as sleeping sickness.
E.g. Trypanosoma.
c) Ciliated protozoans: They are aquatic, actively moving organisms using thousands
of cilia. They have a cavity (gullet) that opens to outside. By the
movement of cilia, the water with food enters gullet.
E.g. Paramoecium.
d) Sporozoans: They have an infectious spore-like stage in their life cycle.
E.g. Plasmodium (malarial parasite).

3. KINGDOM FUNGI PLASMOGAMY

Fusion of protoplasms
between two motile or Heterokaryotic
• It is a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms. non-motile gametes stage

• Fungi are cosmopolitan.

• They grow in warm and humid places. Spore-producing
• E.g. bread mould, orange rots, mushroom, toadstools etc. structures KARYOGAMY
Fusion of two nuclei
• White spots on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus. Spores
(n)
SEXUAL
REPRODUCTION
Zygote
• Some fungi are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium. ASEXUAL
REPRODUCTION
Mycelium
(2n)

• Some unicellular fungi (e.g. yeast) are used to make bread and beer.
• Other fungi cause diseases in plants and animals. E.g. wheat MEIOSIS
GERMINATION Zygote resulting
rust-causing Puccinia. GERMINATION in haploid spores

• Except yeasts, fungi are filamentous. Their bodies consist of

thread-like structures called hyphae. Spores (n)
• The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.
• Some hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm.
These are called coenocytic hyphae. Others have septae or cross walls in hyphae.
• Fungal cell wall is made of chitin & polysaccharides. - Most fungi are
saprophytes (absorb soluble organic matter from dead substrates).
Some are parasites.
• Some live as symbionts. E.g. Lichens (fungi+ algae), mycorrhiza
(fungi+ roots of higher plants)

Reproduction:
• Vegetative propagation: By fragmentation, fission & budding.
• Asexual reproduction: By spores such as conidia, sporangiospores and zoospores.
• Sexual reproduction: By oospores, ascospores and basidiospores. They are
produced in distinct structures called fruiting bodies.
• The sexual cycle involves 3 steps:

a) Plasmogamy: Fusion of protoplasm between two motile or non-motile gametes.

b) Karyogamy: Fusion of two nuclei.
c) Meiosis in zygote to give haploid spores.
• When a fungus reproduces sexually, two haploid hyphae of compatible mating
types come together and fuse.
• In some fungi, the fusion of two haploid cells immediately results in diploid
cells (2n).
• In ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, a dikaryotic stage or dikaryophase
(n + n i.e. two nuclei per cell) occurs. Such a condition is called a dikaryon.
Later, parental nuclei fuse and the cells become diploid.
• The fungi form fruiting bodies in which reduction division occurs,
leading to formation of haploid spores. Based on morphology of
mycelium, mode of spore formation & fruiting bodies,
Fungi are classified into different classes:
1. Phycomycetes 2. Ascomycetes
3. Basidiomycetes 4. Deuteromycetes

I. Phycomycetes (Lower Fungi)

• They occur in aquatic habitats and on decaying wood in moist and damp
places or as obligate parasites on plants.
• The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic.
• Asexual reproduction: By motile zoospores or by non- motile aplanospores.
These are produced in sporangium.
• Sexual reproduction: Zygospores are formed by fusion of two gametes.
These gametes are isogamous (similar in morphology) or anisogamous
or oogamous (dissimilar).
• E.g. Mucor, Rhizopus(bread mould) and Albugo (parasitic fungi on mustard).

II. Ascomycetes (sacfungi)

• They are unicellular (e.g., yeast, Sacharomyces) or multicellular (e.g., Penicillium).
• Mycelium is branched and septate.
• They are saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous (growing on dung).
• Asexual reproduction: By conidia produced exogenously on the special mycelium
called conidiophores. Conidia germinate to produce mycelium.
• Sexual reproduction: By ascospores produced endogenously in sac like asci
(sing. ascus). The asci are arranged to form fruiting bodies called ascocarps.
• E.g. Aspergillus, Claviceps and Neurospora. - Neurospora is used in biochemical
and genetic work.
• Morels & buffles are edible.

III. Basidiomycetes
• Includes mushrooms, bracket fungi or puffballs.
• They grow in soil, on logs and tree stumps and in living plant bodies as
parasites (e.g., rusts and smuts).
• The mycelium is branched and septate.
• The asexual spores are generally not found, but vegetative reproduction
by fragmentation is common.
• The sex organs are absent, but plasmogamy occurs by fusion of two
vegetative or somatic cells of different strains or geno types. The resultant
structure is dikaryotic which gives rise to basidium. Karyogamy and
meiosis take place in basidium producing four basidiospores. Basidiospores
are exogenously produced on the basidium. Basidia are arranged in fruiting
bodies (basidiocarps).
• E.g. Agaricus (mushroom), Ustilago (smut) and Puccinia (rust fungus)

IV. Deuteromycetes
• Commonly known as imperfect fungi because only the asexual or vegetative
phases of these fungi are known.
• When the perfect (sexual) stages of these fungi were discovered they were
moved into other classes (often to ascomycetes and basidiomycetes).
• It is also possible that asexual and vegetative stage have been given one
name (and placed under deuteromycetes) and the sexual stage another
(and placed under another class). When the linkages were established, the
fungi were correctly identified and moved out of deuteromycetes.
• They reproduce only by asexual spores (conidia).
• The mycelium is septate and branched.
• Some are saprophytes or parasites. Majority are decomposers of litter and
help in mineral cycling.
• E.g. Alternaria, Colletotrichum and Trichoderma.
4. KINGDOM PLANTAE (PLANT KINGDOM)
• Plants are eukaryotic chlorophyll-containing organisms with cellulosic cell wall.
• Some are partial heterotrophs (e.g. insectivorous plants like bladderwort & Venus flytrap) or
parasites (e.g. Cuscuta).
• Plantae includes algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms.
• Life cycle of plants has 2 phases: Diploid sporophytic & haploid gametophytic. These phases
alternate with each other. This is called alternation of generation.
• Among different plant groups, length of the haploid & diploid phases is varied. Also,
these phases are free living or dependent on oth

5. KINGDOM ANIMALIA (ANIMAL KINGDOM)

• Animals are multicellular, heterotrophic, eukaryotic organisms without cell wall.
• They directly or indirectly depend on plants for food.
• They digest their food in an internal cavity and store food reserves as glycogen or
fat. Their mode of nutrition is holozoic (by ingestion of food).
• They have a definite growth pattern and grow into adults that have a definite shape and size.
• Higher forms show sensory and neuromotor mechanism.
• Most of them are capable of locomotion.
• The sexual reproduction is by copulation of male and female followed by embryological development.

VIRUSES, VIROIDS AND LICHEN

• In the five-kingdom classification, acellular organisms (viruses & viroids) and lichens
are not mentioned.
• Viruses are not truly ‘living’. So they are not included in five-kingdom classification.
• Viruses are non-cellular organisms having an inert crystalline structure outside the living cell.
• Viruses are obligate parasites. - When they infect a cell, they take over the machinery of the
host cell to replicate themselves, killing the host.
• Louis Pasteur gave the name virus (means venom or poisonous fluid).
• D.J. Ivanowsky (1892) discovered virus. He recognized certain microbes that cause mosaic
disease of tobacco. They were smaller than bacteria because they passed through bacteria-prooffilters.
• M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the infected tobacco plants cause infection
in healthy plants and called the fluid as Contagium vivum fluidum (infectious living fluid).
• W.M. Stanley (1935) showed that viruses could be crystallized and crystals consist largely of proteins.
• A virus is a nucleoprotein, i.e., it has a protein coat (capsid) & genetic material (RNA or DNA).
• The genetic material is infectious.
• No virus contains both RNA & DNA.
• Generally, viruses that infect plants have single stranded RNA. Viruses that infect animals have either
single or double stranded RNA or double stranded DNA. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria)
usually have double stranded DNA
• The capsid made of small subunits (capsomeres) protects nucleic acid. Capsomeres are arranged in
helical or polyhedral geometric form
• Viruses cause diseases like mumps, small pox, herpes, influenza & AIDS. In plants, the symptoms can
be mosaic formation, leaf rolling and curling, yellowing and vein clearing, dwarfing and stunted growth.
• Viroid: It is an infectious agent with a free low molecular weight RNA and no protein coat. These are
smaller than viruses. It is discovered by T.O. Diener (1971). He found that it caused potato spindle tuber disease.

LICHENS
• Lichens are symbiotic associations (mutually useful associations) between algae & fungi.
• The algal component is called phycobiont (autotrophic) and fungal component is mycobiont (heterotrophic).
• Algae prepare food for fungi and fungi provide shelter and absorb mineral nutrients and water for its partner.
• Lichens are very good pollution indicators. They do not grow in polluted areas.