NOTES (2026-2027)

Subject: BIOLOGY Grade: XI

[Link] CLASSIFICATION
Aristotle's classification
• Aristotle was the earliest to attempt a more scientific basis for classification of organisms.
• He classified plants to trees, shrubs & herbs and animals into 2 groups- those with red
blood & without red blood.
Linnaeus's Two-kingdom 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.
Three-domain system: It divides Kingdom Monera into two domains. Eukaryotic kingdoms are
included in third domain. Thus it is six-kingdom classification.
Characteristics of the five kingdoms
Characters Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
Cell type Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic
Present
Non-cellulosic
Present in (Chitin & Present
Cell wall (polysaccharide + Absent
some polysaccharid (Cellulose)
amino acid)
es)
Nuclear
Absent Present Present Present Present
membrane
Characters Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
Body
Multicellular, Tissue/organ/org
organisati Cellular Cellular Tissue/organ
loose tissue an system
on
Autotrophic
(photosynthetic & Autotrophic
Heterotrophic Autotrophic Heterotrophic
Mode of chemosynthetic) (photosynthet
(saprophytic (photosynthet (holozoic,
nutrition and heterotrophic ic) and
or parasitic) ic) saprophytic etc.)
(saprophyte/paras heterotrophic
ite)

1. KINGDOM MONERA (BACTERIA)

• 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 bacteria:
 • 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 spores.
• They also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction (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-celled 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. Dinoflagellates
• 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 dinoflagellates (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 have two flagella, a short and a long one.
• 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:
◦ 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.
◦ Flagellated protozoans: They are free-living or parasitic. They have flagella. The parasitic
forms cause diseases like sleeping sickness. E.g. Trypanosoma.
◦ 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.
◦ Sporozoans: They have an infectious spore-like stage in their life cycle. E.g. Plasmodium
(malarial parasite).

3. KINGDOM FUNGI
• It is a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms.
• Fungi are cosmopolitan.
• They grow in warm and humid places.
• E.g. mould on bread & rotten fruits, mushroom, toadstools.
• White spots on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus.
• Some fungi are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium.
• Some unicellular fungi (e.g. yeast) are used to make bread and beer.
• Other fungi cause diseases in plants and animals. E.g. wheat rust-causing Puccinia.
• Except yeasts, fungi are filamentous. Their bodies consist of thread-like structures called
hyphae.
• The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.
• Hyphae are 2 types:
◦ Coenocytic hyphae: They are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm.
◦ Septate hyphae: They have septae or cross walls.
• 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:
1. Plasmogamy: Fusion of protoplasm between two motile or non-motile gametes.
2. Karyogamy: Fusion of two nuclei.
3. 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 (sac-fungi)
• 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 & truffles 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 genotypes. The resultant structure is dikaryotic which gives rise to
basidium. Karyogamy and meiosis take place in basidium producing four basidiospores
exogenously. 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 their asexual or vegetative phases are
known.
• When perfect (sexual) stages were discovered, they were often moved to ascomycetes or
basidiomycetes.
• It is also possible that asexual and vegetative stage have been given one name placing under
deuteromycetes and the sexual stage another name placing 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 others.

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, PRIONS AND LICHENS
• In the five-kingdom classification, acellular organisms (viruses, viroids & prions) and lichens
are not mentioned.
• Viruses are non-cellular and not truly 'living'. So they are not included in five-kingdom
classification.
• Viruses have 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.
• Dmitry Ivanowsky (1892) recognized certain microbes that cause mosaic disease of tobacco.
They were smaller than bacteria because they passed through bacteria-proof filters.
• M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the infected tobacco plants cause
infection in healthy plants and named the new pathogen ‘virus’ 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, plant viruses have single stranded RNA. Animal viruses 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 forms.
• 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.
• Prions: These are abnormally folded protein that cause some infectious neurological
diseases. These are similar in size to viruses. They cause bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in cattle and its analogous variant Cr-Jacob
disease (CJD) in humans.
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.