Biological Classification:

NEET Complete Notes

Overview: This document covers the comprehensive details of the

Biological Classification chapter following the NCERT curriculum
and NEET syllabus requirements. It includes historical perspectives,
the Five Kingdom system, detailed characteristics of Monera,
Protista, Fungi, and the study of non-cellular organisms like Viruses
and Prions. These notes are designed for intensive self-study and
last-minute revision.

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 Introduction & History of Classification

Biological classification is the scientific procedure of arranging organisms into

groups and subgroups on the basis of their similarities and dissimilarities and
placing the group in a hierarchy of categories.

Historically, Aristotle was the earliest to attempt a more scientific basis for
classification. He used simple morphological characters to classify plants into
trees, shrubs and herbs. He also divided animals into two groups, those which
had red blood (Enaima) and those that did not (Anaima).

LINNAEUS' TWO KINGDOM SYSTEM:

In Linnaeus' time, a Two Kingdom system of classification with Plantae and

Animalia kingdoms was developed that included all plants and animals
respectively. This system did not distinguish between the eukaryotes and
prokaryotes, unicellular and multicellular organisms and photosynthetic (green
algae) and non-photosynthetic (fungi) organisms.

THREE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION:

Proposed by Ernst Haeckel (1866). He separated unicellular eukaryotes from

others and placed them in a new kingdom called Protista.

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 FOUR KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION:

Proposed by Copeland. He created the kingdom Monera for all prokaryotic

organisms.

FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION:

Proposed by R.H. Whittaker (1969). The main criteria for classification used by
him include:

1. Cell structure (Prokaryotic vs Eukaryotic)

2. Body organisation (Unicellular vs Multicellular)

3. Mode of nutrition (Autotrophic vs Heterotrophic)

4. Reproduction

5. Phylogenetic relationships (Evolutionary history)

The five kingdoms are: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.

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 Kingdom Monera

Bacteria are the sole members of Kingdom Monera. They are the most abundant
micro-organisms. Bacteria occur almost everywhere.

CHARACTERISTICS:

1. Prokaryotic nature (no nuclear membrane, no membrane-bound organelles).

2. Cell wall is generally present (composed of peptidoglycan/murein, except in

Mycoplasma).

3. Genetic material is naked DNA (not associated with histones).

SHAPES OF BACTERIA:

- Coccus (Spherical)

- Bacillus (Rod-shaped)

- Vibrio (Comma-shaped)

- Spirillum (Spiral-shaped)

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 ARCHAEBACTERIA:

These bacteria are special since they live in some of the most harsh habitats
such as extreme salty areas (halophiles), hot springs (thermoacidophiles) and
marshy areas (methanogens). Archaebacteria differ from other bacteria in
having a different cell wall structure (lack peptidoglycan, have branched chain
lipids) and this feature is responsible for their survival in extreme conditions.

Methanogens are present in the gut of several ruminant animals such as cows
and buffaloes and they are responsible for the production of methane (biogas)
from the dung of these animals.

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 Eubacteria and Mycoplasma

EUBACTERIA ('True Bacteria'):

They are characterized by the presence of a rigid cell wall, and if motile, a
flagellum.

CYANOBACTERIA (Blue-Green Algae):

They are unicellular, colonial or filamentous, freshwater/marine or terrestrial

algae. The colonies are generally surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. They often
form blooms in polluted water bodies.

Reproduction: Asexually by binary fission.

Importance: Some of these organisms can fix atmospheric nitrogen in
specialised cells called heterocysts, e.g., Nostoc and Anabaena.

CHEMOSYNTHETIC AUTOTROPHS:

These bacteria oxidize various inorganic substances such as nitrates, nitrites

and ammonia and use the released energy for their ATP production. They play a
great role in recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and sulphur.

HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIA:

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 These are the most abundant in nature. The majority are important
decomposers. Many of them have a significant impact on human affairs. Some
are pathogens causing damage to human beings, crops, farm animals and pets.

- Bacteria used for: making curd from milk, production of antibiotics, fixing
nitrogen in legume roots.
- Human diseases: Cholera, typhoid, tetanus, citrus canker (plant disease) are
well known diseases caused by different bacteria.

MYCOPLASMA:

The Mycoplasma are organisms that completely lack a cell wall. They are the
smallest living cells known and can survive without oxygen. Many mycoplasma
are pathogenic in animals and plants.

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 Kingdom Protista

All single-celled eukaryotes are placed under Protista, but the boundaries of this
kingdom are not well defined. Members of Protista are primarily aquatic. This
kingdom forms a link with the others dealing with plants, animals and fungi.

Being eukaryotes, the protistan cell body contains a well-defined nucleus and
other membrane-bound organelles. Some have flagella or cilia.

GROUPS OF PROTISTS:

1. CHRYSOPHYTES: This group includes diatoms and golden algae (desmids).

They are found in fresh water as well as in marine environments. They are
microscopic and float passively in water currents (plankton).
- Diatoms: Their cell walls form two thin overlapping shells, which fit together
as in a soap box. The walls are embedded with silica and thus the walls are
indestructible. Diatoms have left behind large amounts of cell wall deposits in
their habitat; this accumulation over billions of years is referred to as
'diatomaceous earth'. Being gritty this soil is used in polishing, filtration of oils
and syrups. Diatoms are the chief 'producers' in the oceans.
2. DINOFLAGELLATES: These organisms are mostly marine and
photosynthetic. They appear yellow, green, brown, blue or red depending on the
main pigments present in their cells. The cell wall has stiff cellulose plates on
the outer surface. Most of them have two flagella; one lies longitudinally and the
other transversely in a furrow between the wall plates.

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 - Red Dinoflagellates: Very often, red dinoflagellates (Example: Gonyaulax)
undergo such rapid multiplication that they make the sea appear red (red tides).
Toxins released by such large numbers may even kill other marine animals such
as fishes.

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 Groups of Protists (Contd.) & Kingdom
Fungi

3. EUGLENOIDS: Majority of them are fresh water organisms found in

stagnant water. Instead of a cell wall, they have a protein-rich layer called
pellicle which makes their body flexible. They have two flagella, a short and a
long one. Though they are photosynthetic in the presence of sunlight, when
deprived of sunlight they behave like heterotrophs by predating on other
smaller organisms. Interestingly, the pigments of euglenoids are identical to
those present in higher plants. Example: Euglena.
4. SLIME MOULDS: Slime moulds are saprophytic protists. The body moves
along decaying twigs and leaves engulfing organic material. Under suitable
conditions, they form an accumulation called plasmodium which may grow and
spread over several feet. During unfavourable conditions, the plasmodium
differentiates and forms fruiting bodies bearing spores at their tips. The spores
possess true walls. They are extremely resistant and survive for many years,
even under adverse conditions. The spores are dispersed by air currents.
5. PROTOZOANS: All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predators or
parasites. They are believed to be primitive relatives of animals.
- Amoeboid protozoans: Live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil. They move
and capture their prey by putting out pseudopodia (false feet) as in Amoeba.
Marine forms have silica shells on their surface. Some of them such as
Entamoeba are parasites.
- Flagellated protozoans: The members of this group are either free-living or
parasitic. They have flagella. The parasitic forms cause diseases such as sleeping

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 sickness. Example: Trypanosoma.
- Ciliated protozoans: These are aquatic, actively moving organisms because of
the presence of thousands of cilia. They have a cavity (gullet) that opens to the
outside of the cell surface. The coordinated movement of rows of cilia causes the
water laden with food to be steered into the gullet. Example: Paramecium.
- Sporozoans: This includes diverse organisms that have an infectious spore-like
stage in their life cycle. The most notorious is Plasmodium (malarial parasite)
which causes malaria, a disease which has a staggering effect on human
population.

KINGDOM FUNGI:

The fungi constitute a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms. They show a

great diversity in morphology and habitat. You must have seen fungi on a moist
bread and rotten fruits. The common mushroom you eat and toadstools are also
fungi. White spots seen on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus. Some
unicellular fungi, e.g., yeast are used to make bread and beer. Other fungi cause
diseases in plants and animals; wheat rust-causing Puccinia is an important
example. Some are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium. Fungi are
cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on animals and plants. They
prefer to grow in warm and humid places.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:

- The bodies of fungi consist of long, slender thread-like structures called

hyphae. The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.

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 - Some hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm -
these are called coenocytic hyphae. Others have septae or cross walls in their
hyphae.

- The cell walls of fungi are composed of chitin and polysaccharides.

- Reproduction in fungi can take place by vegetative means — fragmentation,

fission and budding. Asexual reproduction is by spores called conidia or
sporangiospores or zoospores. Sexual reproduction is by oospores, ascospores
and basidiospores.

SEXUAL CYCLE:

1. Plasmogamy: Fusion of protoplasms between two motile or non-motile

gametes.
2. Karyogamy: Fusion of two nuclei.
3. Meiosis: In zygote resulting in haploid spores.

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 Classification of Fungi

The morphology of the mycelium, mode of spore formation and fruiting bodies
form the basis for the division of the kingdom into various classes.

1. PHYCOMYCETES: Members are found 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 takes place by
zoospores (motile) or by aplanospores (non-motile). These spores are
endogenously produced in sporangium. A zygospore is formed by fusion of two
gametes. Examples: Mucor, Rhizopus (the bread mould) and Albugo (the
parasitic fungi on mustard).
2. ASCOMYCETES: Commonly known as sac-fungi, they are mostly
multicellular, e.g., Penicillium, or rarely unicellular, e.g., yeast
(Saccharomyces). They are saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous
(growing on dung). Mycelium is branched and septate. The asexual spores are
conidia produced exogenously on the special mycelium called conidiophores.
Sexual spores are called ascospores which are produced endogenously in sac
like asci (singular ascus). These asci are arranged in different types of fruiting
bodies called ascocarps. Examples: Aspergillus, Claviceps and Neurospora.
Neurospora is used extensively in biochemical and genetic work. Many
members like morels and truffles are edible and are considered delicacies.
3. BASIDIOMYCETES: Commonly known forms are 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

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 by fragmentation is common. The sex organs are absent, but plasmogamy is
brought about by fusion of two vegetative or somatic cells of different strains or
genotypes. The resultant structure is dikaryotic which ultimately gives rise to
basidium. Karyogamy and meiosis take place in the basidium producing four
basidiospores. The basidiospores are exogenously produced on the basidium.
The basidia are arranged in fruiting bodies called basidiocarps. Examples:
Agaricus (mushroom), Ustilago (smut) and Puccinia (rust fungus).
4. DEUTEROMYCETES: Commonly known as imperfect fungi because only the
asexual or vegetative phases of these fungi are known. When the sexual forms of
these fungi were discovered they were moved into classes they rightly belong to.
Once perfect (sexual) stages of members were discovered they were often
moved to Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. The deuteromycetes reproduce
only by asexual spores known as conidia. Mycelium is septate and branched.
Some members are saprophytes or parasites while a large number of them are
decomposers of litter and help in mineral cycling. Examples: Alternaria,
Colletotrichum and Trichoderma.

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 Viruses, Viroids, Prions and Lichens

In the five kingdom classification of Whittaker, there is no mention of some

acellular organisms like viruses and viroids, and lichens.

VIRUSES:

The viruses are non-cellular organisms that are characterized by having an inert
crystalline structure outside the living cell. Once they infect a cell they take over
the machinery of the host cell to replicate themselves, killing the host. The
name virus that means venom or poisonous fluid was given by Pasteur. D.J.
Ivanowsky (1892) recognized certain microbes as causal organism of the mosaic
disease of tobacco. M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the
infected plants of tobacco could 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. They are inert outside their specific host cell. Viruses are obligate
parasites.

In addition to proteins, viruses also contain genetic material, that could be

either RNA or DNA. No virus contains both RNA and DNA. A virus is a
nucleoprotein and the genetic material is infectious. In general, viruses that
infect plants have single stranded RNA and viruses that infect animals have
either single or double stranded RNA or double stranded DNA. Bacterial viruses
or bacteriophages (viruses that infect the bacteria) are usually double stranded

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 DNA viruses. The protein coat called capsid made of small subunits called
capsomeres, protects the nucleic acid. These capsomeres are arranged in helical
or polyhedral geometric forms.

VIROIDS:

In 1971, T.O. Diener discovered a new infectious agent that was smaller than
viruses and caused potato spindle tuber disease. It was found to be a free RNA;
it lacked the protein coat that is found in viruses, hence the name viroid. The
RNA of the viroid was of low molecular weight.

PRIONS:

In modern medicine certain infectious neurological diseases were found to be

transmitted by an agent consisting of abnormally folded protein. The agent was
similar in size to viruses. These agents were called prions. The most notable
diseases caused by prions are bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
commonly called mad cow disease in cattle and its analogous variant Cr-Jacob
disease (CJD) in humans.

LICHENS:

Lichens are symbiotic associations i.e. mutually useful associations, between

algae and fungi. The algal component is known as phycobiont and fungal
component as mycobiont, which are autotrophic and heterotrophic,

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 respectively. Algae prepare food for fungi and fungi provide shelter and absorb
mineral nutrients and water for its partner. So close is their association that if
one saw a lichen in nature one would never imagine that they had two different
organisms within them. Lichens are very good pollution indicators — they do
not grow in polluted areas.

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