# EXAMPLES FROM BIOLOGY

## 1. The Living World

1. **Species** – Mangifera indica, Solanum tuberosum (potato) and Panthera leo (lion).
2. **Genus** – Potato and brinjal are two different species but both belong to the genus
Solanum.
Lion (Panthera leo), leopard (P. pardus) and tiger (P. tigris) with several common features, are
all species of the genus Panthera.
3. **Family** – Solanum, Petunia and Datura are placed in the family Solanaceae.
Genus Panthera, comprising lion, tiger, leopard is put along with genus, Felis (cats) in the
family Felidae.
4. **Order** – Plant families like Convolvulaceae, Solanaceae are included in the order
Polymoniales.
The animal order, Carnivora, includes families like Felidae and Canidae.
5. **The famous botanical gardens**
* Kew – (England)
* Indian Botanical Garden, – Howrah (India)
* National Botanical Research Institute, – Lucknow (India)

## 2. Biological Classification
6. **MONERA**
*a. Archaebacteria –*
* Extreme salty areas (halophiles)
* Hot springs (thermoacidophiles)
* Marshy areas (methanogens)
*b. Eubacteria–* Nostoc and Anabaena.

7. **Protista**
* Chrysophytes – diatoms and golden algae (desmids).
* Dinoflagellates – Gonyaulax
* Euglenoids – Euglena

8. **Protozoans**
* Amoeboid protozoans – Amoeba, Entamoeba
* Flagellated protozoans – Trypanosoma
* Ciliated protozoans – Paramoecium
* Sporozoans – Plasmodium (malarial parasite)

9. **Fungi**
* Phycomycetes – Mucor, Rhizopus (the bread Mould), Albugo (the parasitic fungi on mustard)
* Ascomycetes – Penicillium, yeast (unicellular), Aspergillus, Claviceps and Neurospora,
morels and truffles (edibles)
* Basidiomycetes – Agaricus (mushroom), Ustilago (smut), Puccinia (rust fungus)
* Deuteromycetes – Alternaria, Colletotrichum and Trichoderma
10. **Virus**
* (a) Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)
* (b) Bacteriophage

11. **Prions disease**

* Cr–Jacob disease (CJD) in humans
* Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) commonly called mad cow disease in cattle

## 3. Plant Kingdom
12. **Algae**
* Occur in association with fungi (lichen) and animals (e.g., on sloth bear)
* **Isogamous** – flagellated and similar in size (as in Ulothrix) or non-flagellated (non-motile)
but similar in size (as in Spirogyra)
* **Anisogamous** – Eudorina
* **Oogamous** – e.g., Volvox, Fucus
* **Hydrocolloids** (water holding substances) – e.g., algin (brown algae), carrageen (red
algae)
* **Agar** – obtained from Gelidium and Gracilaria are used to grow microbes and in
preparations of ice-creams and jellies.
* **Chlorella** a unicellular alga rich in proteins is used as food supplement even by space
travellers.
* **Chlorophyceae** – Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Ulothrix, Spirogyra and Chara
* **Phaeophyceae** – Ectocarpus, Dicyota, Laminaria, Sargassum and Fucus
* **Rhodophyceae** – Polysiphonia, Poryphyra, Gracilaria and Gelidium

13. **BRYOPHYTES**
1. Liverworts – Marchantia
2. Mosses – Funaria, Polytrichum and Sphagnum

14. **PTERIDOPHYTES**
* Leaves in pteridophyta are small (microphylls) as in Selaginella or large (macrophylls) as in
ferns.
* Strobili or cones (Selaginella, Equisetum)
* Psilopsida (Psilotum);
* Lycopsida (Selaginella, Lycopodium),
* Sphenopsida (Equisetum)
* Pteropsida (Dryopteris, Pteris, Adiantum)

15. **GYMNOSPERMS**
* The giant redwood tree Sequoia is one of the tallest tree species.
* Fungal association – mycorrhiza (Pinus)
* Cycas – small specialised roots called coralloid roots
* Stems are unbranched (Cycas) or branched (Pinus, Cedrus)
16. **ANGIOSPERMS**
Smallest Wolffia to tall trees of Eucalyptus (over 100 metres).

17. **LIFE CYCLES**

* **Haplontic** – Spirogyra, Volvox, some species of Chlamydomonas
* **Diplontic** – Fucus, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms
* **Haplo-diplontic** – Bryophytes and Pteridophytes, Ectocarpus, Polysiphonia, kelps

## 4. Animal Kingdom
18. **Radial symmetry** – Coelenterates, ctenophores and echinoderms
**Bilateral symmetry** – annelids, arthropods
**Diploblastic animals**, e.g., coelenterates.
**Triploblastic animals** (platyhelminthes to chordates)
**Coelomates**, e.g., annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms, hemichordates and
chordates
**Pseudocoelomates**, e.g., aschelminthes
**Acoelomates**, e.g., platyhelminthes
**Earthworm** – metamerism
* **Porifera** – Sycon (Scypha), Spongilla (Fresh water sponge) and Euspongia (Bath
Sponge)
* **Coelenterata** – Physalia (Portuguese man of war), Adamsia (Sea anemone), Pennatula
(Sea pen), Gorgonia (Sea fan) and Meandrina (Brain coral)
* **Ctenophora** – Pleurobrachia and Ctenoplana
* **Platyhelminthes** – Taenia (Tapeworm), Fasciola (Liver fluke)
* **Aschelminthes** – Ascaris (Roundworm), Wuchereria (Filaria worm), Ancylostoma
(hookworm)
* **Annelida** – Nereis, Pheretima (Earthworm), and Hirudinaria (Blood sucking leech)
* **Arthropoda** – Economically important insects Apis (Honey bee), Bombyx (Silkworm),
Laccifer (Lac insect)
* Vectors – Anopheles, Culex and Aedes (mosquitoes)
* Gregarious pest – Locusta (Locust)
* Living fossils – Limulus (King crab)
* **Mollusca** – Pila (Apple snail), Pinctada (Pearl oyster), Sepia (cuttlefish), Loligo (Squid),
Octopus (Devil fish), Aplysia (Sea hare), Dentalium (Tusk shell) and Chaetopleura.
* **Echinodermata** – Asteria (Star fish), Echinus (sea urchin), Antedon (Sea lily), Cucumaria
(sea cucumber) and Ophiura (Brittle star)
* **Hemichordata** – Balanoglossus and Saccoglossus
* **Urochordata** – Ascidia, Salpa, Doliolum
* **Cephalochordata** – Branchiostoma (Amphioxus or Lancelet)
* **Cyclostomata** – Petromyzon (Lamprey), Myxine (Hagfish)
* **Chondrichthyes** – Scoliodon (Dog fish), Pristis (Saw fish), Carcharodon (Great white
shark), Trygon (Sting ray)
* **Osteichthyes**
 * Marine: Exocoetus (Flying fish), Hippocampus (Sea horse)
* Fresh water: Labeo (Rohu), Catla (Katla), Clarias (Magur)
* Aquarium: Betta (Fighting fish), Pterophyllum (Angel fish)
* **Class Amphibia** – Bufo (Toad), Rana (Frog), Hyla (Tree frog), Salamandra
(Salamander), Ichthyophis (Limbless amphibia)
* **Class Reptilia** – Chelone (Turtle), Testudo (Tortoise), Chameleon (Tree lizard), Calotes
(Garden lizard), Crocodilus (Crocodile), Alligator (Alligator). Hemidactylus (Wall lizard).
* Poisonous snakes – Naja (Cobra), Bangarus (Krait), Vipera (Viper).
* **Class Aves** – Corvus (Crow), Columba (Pigeon), Psittacula (Parrot), Struthio (Ostrich),
Pavo (Peacock), Aptenodytes (Penguin), Neophron (Vulture).
* **Class Mammalia**
* Oviparous – Ornithorhynchus (Platypus);
* Viviparous – Macropus (Kangaroo), Pteropus (Flying fox), Camelus (Camel), Macaca
(Monkey), Rattus (Rat), Canis (Dog), Felis (Cat), Elephas (Elephant), Equus (Horse), Delphinus
(Common dolphin), Balaenoptera (Blue whale), Panthera tigris (Tiger), Panthera leo (Lion).

## 5. Morphology of Flowering Plants

19. **TYPES OF ROOTS**
1) Tap root – Carrot, turnip, mustard
2) Fibrous root – Wheat
3) Adventitious root – Monstera, banyan tree, grass

**Modifications of root**
1) Prop roots – Banyan tree
2) Stilt roots – Sugarcane and maize
3) Pneumatophores – Rhizophora

**Modifications of stem**
1) Underground – Potato, Ginger, Turmeric, Zamainkand, Colocasia
2) Tendril – Cucumber, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Grapevine
3) Thorns – Citrus, Bougainvillea
4) Flat – Opuntia
5) Cylindrical – Euphorbia
6) Stolen – Mint, Jasmine
7) Offset – Pistia, Eichhornia (water hyacinth)
8) Sucker – Pineapple, Chrysanthemum, Banana

**Types of Leaves**
1) Pinnately – Neem
2) Palmately – Silk cotton

**Modifications of Leaves**
1) Spines – Cactus
2) Tendril – Pea
 3) Storage – Onion
4) Small and short-lived leaves, Petioles expand – Australian acacia
5) Insectivorous plant – Pitcher plant, Venus fly trap

**Phyllotaxy**
1) Alternate – Mustard, sunflower, china rose
2) Opposite – Calotropis, guava
3) Whorled – Alstonia

**Types of symmetry in flower**

1) Actinomorphic – Mustard, datura, chilli
2) Zygomorphic – Pea, bean, gulmohar, cassia
3) Asymmetric – Canna

**Types of ovary**
1) Hypogynous – Mustard, china rose, brinjal
2) Perigynous – Rose, plum, peach
3) Epigynous – Guava, cucumber, ray florets of sunflower

**Types of Aestivation**
1) Valvate – Calotropis
2) Twisted – China rose, Lady finger, cotton
3) Imbricate – Cassia, gulmohar
4) Vexillary/Papilionaceous – Pea, bean

**Types of Placentation**
1) Marginal – Pea
2) Axile – China rose, tomato, lemon
3) Parietal – Mustard, Argemone
4) Free-central – Dianthus, primrose
5) Basal – Sunflower, marigold

**PLANT FAMILIES**
1) **Fabeaceae** – Pulses, Edible oil = soyabean, groundnut, Dye = Indigofera, Fibres =
Sunhemp, Fodder = sesbania, trifolium, Ornamentals = lupin, sweet pea, Medicine = muliathi
2) **Solanaceae** – Food = brinjal, potato, Chilli, Medicine = belladonna, ashwagandha,
Tobacco, Ornamentals = petunia
3) **Liliaceae** – Ornamentals = tulip, gloriosa, Medicine = aloe, Vegetable = asparagus,
Colchicines (colchicum autumnale), Onion (allium cepa)
4) **Brassicaceae** – Mustard, Cabbage, Turnip, Raddish, Cauliflower

**Miscellaneous examples**
1) Perianth – Lily
2) Variation in filament length (androecium) – Salvia, mustard
 3) Monoadelphous stamen – China rose
4) Diadelphous stamen – Pea
5) Polyadelphous stamen – Citrus
6) Syncarpous (carpels fused) – Mustard, tomato
7) Apocarpous (carpels free) – Lotus, rose
8) Racemose inflorescence = Fabaceae and brassicaceae
9) Cymose inflorescence – Solanaceae and liliaceae
10) Drupe = Mango and coconut
11) Non-endospermous seeds (dicots) = Pulses (pea, bean, gram); Castor is dicot but
endospermous seed.
12) Endospermous seeds (monocots) – Grasses; Orchids are monocots but
non-endospermic seeds.

## 6. Anatomy of Flowering Plants

20. **Endarch** – stems
**Exarch** – roots
**Open vascular bundles** – In dicotyledonous stems
**Closed** – monocotyledons
**Radial** – such as in roots
**Conjoint** – stems and leaves

## 7. Structural Organisation in Animals

21. **Squamous epithelium** – walls of blood vessels and air sacs of lungs
**Cuboidal epithelium** – ducts of glands and tubular parts of nephrons in kidneys
**Columnar epithelium** – lining of stomach and intestine
**Ciliated epithelium** – hollow organs like bronchioles and fallopian tubes

## 8. Cell: The Unit of Life

22. **Inclusion bodies** – phosphate granules, cyanophycean granules and glycogen granules

## 9. Biomolecules
23. **Pigments** – Carotenoids, Anthocyanins, etc.
**Alkaloids** – Morphine, Codeine, etc.
**Terpenoides** – Monoterpenes, Diterpenes etc.
**Essential oils** – Lemon grass oil, etc.
**Toxins** – Abrin, Ricin
**Lectins** – Concanavalin A
**Drugs** – Vinblastin, curcumin, etc.
**Polymeric substances** – Rubber, gums, cellulose

## 12. Mineral Nutrition

24. **Hydroponics**
* Has been successfully employed as a technique for the commercial production of
vegetables such as tomato, seedless cucumber and lettuce.
 * **Macronutrients** – Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur, potassium,
calcium and magnesium
* **Micronutrients** – Iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, zinc, boron, chlorine and nickel

* **Essential elements** – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen

* Energy-related chemical compounds in plants (e.g., magnesium in chlorophyll and
phosphorous in ATP)
* Mg²⁺ is an activator for both ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase and
phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase
* **Beneficial elements** – such as sodium, silicon, cobalt and selenium
* **Chlorosis** – caused by the deficiency of elements N, K, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo.
* **Necrosis** or death of tissue – due to the deficiency of Ca, Mg, Cu, K.
* Lack or low level of N, K, S, Mo causes an inhibition of cell division.
* Some elements like N, S, Mo delay flowering if their concentration in plants is low.
* **Nitrifying bacteria** = Nitrosomonas, Nitrococcus, Nitrobacter
* **Denitrifying bacteria** = Pseudomonas, Thiobacillus
* Free-living nitrogen-fixing aerobic microbes are Azotobacter and Beijerinckia
* Rhodospirillum is anaerobic and free-living
* Cyanobacteria such as Anabaena and Nostoc are also free-living nitrogen-fixers

## 13. Photosynthesis
25. **C4 plants** – maize or sorghum – to observe the Kranz anatomy.

## 15. Plant Growth and Development

26. **Environmental heterophylly** in cotton, coriander and larkspur; buttercup also represent
the heterophyllous development due to environment (water).
* Auxins like IAA and indole butyric acid (IBA) have been isolated from plants.
* **Vernalisation** is seen in biennial plants.
* NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) and 2, 4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic) are synthetic auxins.
* Sugarbeet, cabbages, carrots are some of the common biennials.

## 16. Digestion and Absorption

27. **Pancreatic juice** – trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, procarboxypeptidases, amylases,
lipases and nucleases.
* **Succus entericus** – disaccharidases (e.g., maltase), dipeptidases, lipases,
nucleosidases, etc.
* **Sub-mucosal glands** – Brunner’s glands.

28. **Respiration by simple diffusion** (over entire body surface) – Lower invertebrates like
sponges, coelenterates, flatworms.

## 17. Breathing and Exchange of Gases

* **Cutaneous respiration** – Earthworms
* **Tracheal respiration** = Insects
* **Branchial respiration (Gills)** – Most of the aquatic arthropods and molluscs
* **Pulmonary respiration** – Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals

## 19. Excretory Products and their Elimination

29. **Ammonotelic animals** – Many bony fishes, aquatic amphibians and aquatic insects.
**Ureotelic animals** – Mammals, many terrestrial amphibians and marine fishes.
**Uricotelic animals** – Reptiles, birds, land snails and insects.
**Excretory structures** –
* **Protonephridia or flame cells** – flatworm (Planaria), rotifers, some annelids and the
cephalochordate Amphioxus.
* **Nephridia** – earthworms and other annelids.
* **Malpighian tubules** – most of the insects including cockroaches.
* **Antennal glands or green glands** – crustaceans like prawns.

## 20. Locomotion and Movement

30. In **Paramoecium** – cilia helps in the movement of food through cytopharynx and in
locomotion as well.
* **Hydra** can use its tentacles for capturing its prey and also use them for locomotion.
* **Amoeboid movement** – Amoeba, microfilaments, macrophages and leucocytes.
* **Muscular movement** – Movement of our jaws, limbs, tongue.
* **Ciliary movement** – Coordinated movement of cilia in trachea, passage of ova through
the female reproductive tracts.
* **Flagellar movement** – Swimming of spermatozoa, canal system of sponges, locomotion
of protozoans like Euglena.

**Types of joints:**
1. **Fibrous joints** – sutures, to form the cranium.
2. **Cartilaginous joints** – between the adjacent vertebrae.
3. **Synovial joints** –
* Ball and socket joint (between humerus and pectoral girdle),
* Hinge joint (knee joint),
* Pivot joint (between atlas and axis),
* Gliding joint (between the carpals) and
* Saddle joint (between carpal and metacarpal of thumb).

## 21. Neural Control and Coordination

31. **Multipolar** – found in the cerebral cortex.
**Bipolar** – found in the retina of eye.
**Unipolar** – found usually in the embryonic stage.

## 22. Chemical Coordination and Integration

32. **Pars distalis** – anterior pituitary – produces growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL),
thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), luteinizing hormone
(LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).
 **Pars intermedia** secretes only one hormone called melanocyte stimulating hormone
(MSH).
**Neurohypophysis (pars nervosa)** stores and releases two hormones called oxytocin and
vasopressin, which are actually synthesised by the hypothalamus.

**Types of hormones:**
(i) Peptide, polypeptide, protein hormones (e.g., insulin, glucagon, pituitary hormones,
hypothalamic hormones, etc.)
(ii) Steroids (e.g., cortisol, testosterone, estradiol and progesterone)
(iii) Iodothyronines (thyroid hormones)
(iv) Amino-acid derivatives (e.g., epinephrine).

---

## 12th NCERT EXAMPLES

### 1. Reproduction in Organisms

* **Binary fission** – Amoeba, Paramecium.
* **Buds** – In yeast.
* **Special asexual reproductive structures – zoospores** – Kingdom Fungi and simple plants
such as algae.
* **Other asexual reproductive structures** – conidia (Penicillium), buds (Hydra) and gemmules
(sponge).
* **Strobilanthus kunthiana (neelakuranji)**, flowers once in 12 years.
* **Non-primate mammals** – cows, sheep, rats, deers, dogs, tiger – oestrus cycle.
* **Monkeys, apes, and humans** – menstrual cycle.
* **Unisexual animal species** – Earthworms, sponge, tapeworm and leech.
* **Diversity of sexuality in organi[Link]
(a) Bisexual animal (Earthworm);
(b) Unisexual animal (Cockroach);
(c) Monoecious plant (Chara);
(d) Dioecious plant (Marchantia);
(e) Bisexual flower (sweet potato).
* **Parthenogenesis** = rotifers, honeybees and even some lizards and birds (turkey).

### 2. Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants

* **Pollen grains viability**:
* Cereals such as rice and wheat – within 30 minutes.
* Rosaceae, Leguminoseae and Solanaceae – viability for months.
* Multicarpellary, syncarpous pistil of Papaver;
* A multicarpellary, apocarpous gynoecium of Michelia;
* **Kinds of Pollination**:
* **Autogamy** – Viola (common pansy), Oxalis, and Commelina – chasmogamous flowers.
* One ovule in ovary = Wheat, Paddy, Mango.
* **Biotic agents of pollination Animals** – Bees, Butterflies, beetles, wasp, ants, moths, birds
(sunbird and humming birds), bats, some primates (lemurs) and arboreal (tree dwelling) rodents,
reptiles (gecko lizard and garden lizard).
* **Wind pollination** = Grasses.
* **Water pollination** – Algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes.
* Vallisneria and Hydrilla (grow in fresh water).
* Zostera – grow in marine water.
* Insect or Wind pollination – Water hyacinth and water lily.
* **Mutualism** :- yucca and moth.
* To study pollen germination :- pollen from flowers such as pea, chickpea, Crotalaria, balsam
and Vinca.
* **Persistent Endosperm** – Castor and coconut.
* **Albuminous seed** = Wheat, maize, barley, castor, sunflower.
* **Non Albuminous seed** – Pea and groundnut.
* **False fruits** of apple and strawberry.
* **Very old yet viable seeds** :- Lupinus arcticus, Phoenix dactylifera.
* **Parthenocarpic** – fruits Banana.
* **Apomixis** – Asteraceae and grasses.
* **Polyembryony** – Citrus fruits and mango.

### 3. Human Reproduction

* Placenta also acts as an endocrine tissue and produces several hormones like human
chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), human placental lactogen (hPL), estrogens, progestogens, etc.
* In the later phase of pregnancy, a hormone called relaxin is also secreted by the ovary.
* Estrogens, progestogens, cortisol, prolactin, thyroxine, etc., are increased several folds in the
maternal blood.

### 4. Reproductive Health

* **Natural methods** :-
* Periodic abstinence
* Withdrawal or coitus interruptus
* Lactational amenorrhea
* **Barrier methods** :-
* Condoms
* Diaphragms, cervical caps and vaults
* **Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs)**
* Non-medicated IUDs (e.g., Lippes loop),
* Copper releasing IUDs (CuT, Cu7, Multiload 375)
* Hormone releasing IUDs (Progestasert, LNG-20)
* Except for hepatitis-B, genital herpes and HIV infections, other diseases are completely
curable if detected early and treated properly.
* **In vitro fertilisation** :- embryo transfer, test tube baby, ZIFT–zygote intra fallopian transfer,
IUT – intra uterine transfer.
* **In-vivo fertilisation** :- GIFT – gamete intra fallopian transfer, Intra cytoplasmic sperm
injection (ICSI), artificial insemination (AI), (IUI – intra-uterine insemination).

### 5. Principles of Inheritance & Variation

* Artificial selection and domestication from ancestral wild cows :- Sahiwal cows in Punjab.
* **Incomplete Dominance** :- Dog flower (snapdragon or Antirrhinum species).
* **Co-dominance** :- ABO blood grouping.
* **Multiple Allelism** :- ABO blood grouping.
* **Pleiotropy** :- Phenylketonuria.
* **Male Heterogamety** :- Humans and drosophila (XY).
* **Female Heterogamety** :- Birds (ZW).
* Grasshopper is an example of XO type of sex determination.
* Chromosomal aberrations are commonly observed in cancer cells.
* **Point mutation** :- Sickle cell anemia.
* **Mendelian Disorders** :- Haemophilia, Cystic fibrosis, Sickle cell anemia, colorblindness,
phenylketonuria, thalassemia.
* **Chromosomal disorders** – Down’s syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome, Turner’s syndrome.

### 6. Molecular Basis of Inheritance

* **Purines** :- Adenine and Guanine.
* **Pyrimidines** :- Cytosine, Uracil and Thymine.
* **RNA polymerase I** transcribes rRNAs (28S, 18S, and 5.8S).
* **RNA polymerase III** is responsible for transcription of tRNA, 5s rRNA, and snRNAs (small
nuclear RNAs).
* **RNA polymerase II** transcribes precursor of mRNA, the heterogeneous nuclear RNA
(hnRNA).
* **The Human Genome Project** :- Many non-human model organisms, such as bacteria,
yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans (a free living non-pathogenic nematode), Drosophila (the fruit
fly), plants (rice and Arabidopsis), etc., have also been sequenced.

### 7. Evolution
* **Homologous structures (Divergent evolution)** :-
* Forelimbs of whales, bats, cheetah and humans.
* Vertebrate hearts or brains.
* Thorns and tendrils of Bougainvillea and Cucurbita.
* **Analogous structures (Convergent evolution)** :-
* Wings of butterfly and birds.
* Eye of octopus and mammals.
* Flippers of penguins and dolphins.
* **Adaptive radiation** :-
* Darwin finches.
* Marsupials of Australia.
* Mammals live wholly in water. Whales, dolphins, seals and sea cows are some examples.
### 8. Human Health and Disease
* **Passive Immunity** :- Colostrum, Injection in case of snake bites.
* **Primary lymphoid organs** :- Bone marrow, and thymus.
* **Secondary lymphoid organs** :- Spleen lymph nodes, tonsils, Peyer’s patches of small
intestine and appendix.
* **Vector-borne (Aedes mosquitoes) diseases** :- like dengue and chikungunya.
* Polio, diphtheria, pneumonia and tetanus have been controlled to a large extent by the use of
vaccines.
* **Physical barriers** :- skin and mucus coating.
* **Physiological barriers** :- Acid in the stomach, saliva in the mouth, tears from eyes.
* **Cytokine barriers** :- interferons.
* **Cellular barriers** :- PMNL-neutrophils, monocytes and natural killer, macrophages in
tissues.

### 9. Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

* **Fisheries** include :- rearing, catching, selling, etc., of fish, molluscs (shell-fish) and
crustaceans (prawns, crabs, etc.).
* Bees are the pollinators of many of our crop species :- such as sunflower, Brassica, apple and
pear.
* **Fresh water fish** :- Catla, Rohu, and Common carp.
* **Marine fishes** :- Hilsa, sardines, Mackerel and Pomfrets.
* **Semi dwarf varieties of wheat** :- Sonalika and Kalyan Sona.
* **Semi dwarf varieties of rice** :- Jaya and Ratna.
* **Diseases caused by fungi** :- Brown rust of wheat, red rot of sugarcane, late blight of potato.
* **Diseases caused by bacteria** :- Black rot of crucifers.
* **Diseases caused by viruses** :- Tobacco mosaic and turnip mosaic.
* In mung bean, resistance to yellow mosaic virus and powdery mildew were induced by
mutations.
* Resistance to yellow mosaic virus in bhindi (Abelmoschus esculentus).
* **Vitamin A enriched** :- carrots, spinach, pumpkin;
**Vitamin C enriched** :- bitter gourd, bathua, mustard, tomato;
**Iron and calcium enriched** :- spinach and bathua;
**Protein enriched beans** – broad, lablab, French and garden peas.
* **Micropropagation** :- Many important food plants like tomato, banana, apple, etc., have
been produced on commercial scale using this method.

### 10. Microbes in Human Welfare

a. Microbes are also used to ferment fish, soyabean and bamboo-shoots to make foods.
b. Large holes in ‘Swiss cheese’ :- Propionibacterium sharmanii.
c. **Acid producers**:
* Aspergillus niger (a fungus) of citric acid,
* Acetobacter aceti (a bacterium) of acetic acid;
* Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) of butyric acid;
* Lactobacillus (a bacterium) of lactic acid.
d. The Ladybird, and Dragonflies are useful to get rid of aphids and mosquitoes, respectively.
e. **Microbial biocontrol agents** :- that can be introduced in order to control butterfly
caterpillars is the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (often written as Bt).
f. Baculoviruses are pathogens that attack insects and other arthropods.
g. **Free living nitrogen fixing bacteria** :- Azospirillum, Azotobacter.
**Cyanobacteria as Nitrogen fixers** :- Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria.
**Symbiotic Nitrogen fixing Bacteria** :- Rhizobium.

### 12. Biotechnology and its Applications

* Strains of Bacillus thuringiensis produce proteins that kill certain insects such as :-
* Lepidopterans (tobacco budworm, armyworm),
* Coleopterans (beetles) and
* Dipterans (flies, mosquitoes).
* Genes cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms, that of cryIAb controls corn borer.
* **Molecular Diagnosis** :-
* Recombinant DNA technology,
* Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and
* Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA).

### 13. Ecology

* Mango trees do not and cannot grow in temperate countries like Canada and Germany,
* Snow leopards are not found in Kerala forests and
* Tuna fish are rarely caught beyond tropical latitudes in the ocean.
* **Regulate** :- All birds and mammals, and a very few lower vertebrate and invertebrate
species.
* **Conform** :- majority (99 per cent) of animals and nearly all plants.
* **Migrate**: Keolado National Park (Bharatpur) in Rajasthan host thousands of migratory birds
coming from Siberia.
* **Suspend**: In bacteria, fungi and lower plants, various kinds of thick walled spores.
* **Diapause** :- many zooplankton species in lakes and ponds.
* Some organisms breed only once in their lifetime (Pacific salmon fish, bamboo) while others
breed many times during their lifetime (most birds and mammals).
* Some produce a large number of small-sized offspring (Oysters, pelagic fishes) while others
produce a small number of large-sized offspring (birds, mammals).

* **Predation** :- Prickly pear cactus and cactus feeding predator (a moth).

* **Parasitism** :- Life cycle of human liver fluke, Malarial parasite, Cuscuta.
* **Commensalism** :- Barnacles growing on the back of a whale, An orchid growing on as an
epiphyte on a mango branch, Cattle Egret and grazing cattle, Sea anemone and clown fish.
* **Mutualism** :-
* Lichens – mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthesizing algae or
cyanobacteria.
* Mycorrhizae – association between fungi and roots of higher plants.
* Pollination (zoophily, entomophily).
 * Between fig tree and wasp.
* **Competition** – Between superior barnacle Balanus and smaller barnacle.
* **Gaseous nutrient cycle** :- Nitrogen, carbon cycle.
* **Sedimentary cycle** :- Sulphur and phosphorus cycle.
* **Genetic diversity** :- Rauwolfia vomitoria.
* **Species diversity** :- Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the
Eastern Ghats.
* **Ecological diversity** :- India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral
reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a
Scandinavian country like Norway.
* **Examples of recent extinctions** include the dodo (Mauritius), quagga (Africa), thylacine
(Australia), Steller’s Sea Cow (Russia) and three subspecies (Bali, Javan, Caspian) of tiger.

* **Causes of biodiversity losses** :-

(i) **Habitat loss and fragmentation** :- The Amazon rain forest.
(ii) **Over-exploitation** :- Steller’s sea cow, passenger pigeon.
(iii) **Alien species invasions**: carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth
(Eicchornia), The Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria, African catfish Clarias gariepinus.
(iv) **Co-extinctions**: – coevolved plant-pollinator mutualism.

* **Narrowly utilitarian** :- nature food (cereals, pulses, fruits), firewood, fibre, construction
material, industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes) and products of
medicinal importance.
* **Broadly utilitarian** :- Pollination, oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.
* **Ethical** :- We have a moral duty to care for their well-being and pass on our biological
legacy in good order to future generations