Q. Why Did Humans Start Classifying Organisms?

Initially, humans classified living organisms mainly for their own use, such as:
• 🍎 Food – cereals, fruits, vegetables, animals
• 🏠 Shelter – timber yielding plants
• 👕 Clothing – cotton, wool, silk
• 💊 Medicines – medicinal plants and animals
Thus, the earliest classifications were artificial and based on utility rather than scientific relationships.

Early Scientific Classification

1. Aristotle – Father of Animal Classification
Aristotle was the first person to attempt a scientific classification of living organisms.

Based on habit, he classified animals in to: Herbs: Small plants with soft stems.
Example: Wheat, Coriander
Enaima: Animals with red blood
Roughly corresponds to vertebrates. Shrubs: Medium-sized woody plants.
Example: Rose, Hibiscus
Anaima: Animals without red blood
Roughly corresponds to invertebrates. Trees: Tall, woody stem.
Example: Mango, Neem
Basis: Colour of the blood Basis: Habit (appearance)

⚠️ This classification was not completely accurate, because Aristotle used only a few simple observable morphological
characters.
Kingdom Plantae
Two Kingdom Classification
Included:
Proposed by: Carolus Linnaeus • Algae
He classified all living organisms into: Plantae and Animalia • Mosses
• Ferns
Kingdom Animalia • Gymnosperms
Included: • Angiosperms
• Protozoans Also included (incorrectly):
• Invertebrates • Fungi
• Vertebrates • Some bacteria

Limitations/Drawbacks:
The two-kingdom system was simple but had many drawbacks.

1. No Separation of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes 2. No Separation of Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms

It placed: Organism Type
• Bacteria (Prokaryotes) Amoeba Unicellular
• Plants and animals (Eukaryotes) Human Multicellular
together in the same system. Yet both were included under Animalia.

3. No Separation of Autotrophs and Heterotrophs 4. Many Organisms Did Not Fit in to Either
Organism Nutrition Examples:
Green algae Photosynthetic • Bacteria
Fungi Non-photosynthetic • Protists
Still, both were included under Plantae. • Fungi
• Lichens
These organisms had entirely different characteristics.
Hence, Two Kingdom Classification was found inadequate.

Need for Better Classification

Scientists realised that classification should not depend only on external appearance or gross morphological
characters, other characteristics should also be considered.

Evolution of Classification Systems

Over time, classification systems changed because our understanding of organisms improved.
But the Kingdom Plantae and Animalia remained constant in all the classification systems.
However,
The organisms included under these kingdoms changed with time.
For Example: Earlier the kingdom Plantae included all plants, algae, fungi and bacteria.
Later, Fungi and Bacteria are removed from plantae and place under the kingdom Fungi and Kingdom Monera
respectively.
Thus,
• The name Plantae was retained.
• But the organisms included under Plantae changed.

The number of kingdoms and nature of other kingdoms have also been understood differently by different scientists
over the time.

FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION

The most accepted classification in NCERT is the Five Kingdom Classification.
It was proposed by: Robert H. Whittaker (1969)

Five Kingdoms:
The main criteria for his classification used include
• Cell structure – Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
• Body organisation – Unicellular and Multicellular
• Mode of nutrition – Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
• Reproduction – Vegetative and Sexual
• Phylogenetic relationships – Closely or distantly related

A comparative account of different characteristics of the five kingdoms.

Why was Five Kingdom Classification Needed?

When, more organisms were discovered and studied, scientists realised that, in earlier classification systems, many
unrelated organisms were grouped together merely on the basis of a few superficial characters.
Hence,
A need for Five Kingdom Classification was felt due to the limitations of earlier systems.

Problems with Earlier Classification Systems

1. Very Different Organisms Were Included in Plantae
Earlier, the following organisms were all included under Kingdom Plantae:
• Bacteria
• Blue green algae (Cyanobacteria)
• Fungi
They were grouped together mainly because: They possess
• Bryophytes (Mosses) cell walls (the character that unified this whole kingdom).
• Pteridophytes (Ferns)
• Gymnosperms
• Angiosperms

2. No Separation of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

Earlier systems grouped:
Prokaryotes
• Bacteria
• Cyanobacteria
along with Eukaryotes like
• Fungi
• Plants
• Animals
 Prokaryotes and eukaryotes should not be kept in the same kingdom as they widely differ in many aspects.

3. No Separation of Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms

Example:
Organism Nature
Chlamydomonas Unicellular
Spirogyra Multicellular
Yet, both were placed under Plantae.

4. No Separation of Autotrophs and Heterotrophs

For example: Green plants are
• Autotrophic
• Photosynthetic
• Contain chlorophyll
Fungi are:
• Heterotrophic
• Absorb food from surroundings
• No chlorophyll
Yet, both are included under Plantae because of both possess cell wall. But
Cell Wall Composition Also Differs
Organism Cell Wall
Plants Cellulose
Fungi Chitin
Thus, Fungi are fundamentally different from plants.
Merits of Five Kingdom Classification

1. All Prokaryotes Were Grouped Together

Whittaker placed all prokaryotes under: Kingdom Monera (first proposed as a phylum by German biologist Ernst
Haeckel)

2. Fungi Were Given a Separate Kingdom

Earlier: Fungi is placed under→ Plantae
Whittaker proposed a Separate Kingdom: Fungi
because fungi are:
• Heterotrophic
• Non-photosynthetic
• Having chitinous cell wall

3. Unicellular Eukaryotes Were Grouped Together

Ernst Haeckel in 1866 created: Kingdom Protista

Why Protista Was Important?

Earlier:
Organism Earlier Kingdom
Amoeba (no cell wall) Animalia
Paramecium (no cell wall) Animalia
Chlamydomonas (have cell wall) Plantae
Chlorella (have cell wall) Plantae
But all are:
✅ Unicellular
✅ Eukaryotic
Hence, they are removed from the Animalia and Plantae; now grouped together under the kingdom i.e.: Protista

Now the Protista kingdom includes:

• Amoeba
• Paramecium
• Euglena
• Chlamydomonas
• Chlorella

Classification Systems Continue to Change

• The criteria for classification are likely to change in future depending on improvements in our
understanding of organisms and their evolutionary relationships.
Therefore, classification is:
• ✅ Dynamic
• ❌ Not fixed forever.

Modern Aim of Classification

Modern classification tries to reflect:
1. Morphological similarities
2. Physiological similarities
3. Reproductive similarities
4. Evolutionary/phylogenetic relationships
THREE DOMAIN SYSTEM Or SIX-KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION:
A more recent classification system
It was proposed by: Carl Woese
It is based on: 16S rRNA gene sequence

The kingdom - Monera is divided into two domains – Archaea and Bacteria

Domain 1: Archaea
Contains:
• Archaebacteria
Examples:
• Methanogens
• Halophiles
• Thermoacidophiles

Domain 2: Bacteria
Contains:
• Eubacteria
Examples:
• Escherichia coli
• Cyanobacteria

Rest all 4 eukaryotic kingdoms are placed under the third domain called ‘Eukarya’.

Domain 3: Eukarya
Contains four kingdoms: Protista, Fungai, Plantae and Animalia

KINGDOM MONERA

Kingdom Monera includes: All prokaryotic organisms

Mainly includes:
• Bacteria
• Cyanobacteria (Blue-green algae)
• Archaebacteria
• Mycoplasma
They are the most abundant micro-organisms in the world.

✅ Monerans are prokaryotic

❌ True nucleus absent
❌ Membrane-bound organelles absent

Habitat
Monerans are found almost everywhere.
They are called: Ubiquitous (Cosmopolitan)
Meaning:
• Present in soil
• Water
• Air
• Living organisms
• Dead organic matter

Extreme Habitats
Some bacteria survive in extreme environments:
🏜️ Deserts
🏔️ Snow-covered regions
♨️ Hot springs
🌊 Deep oceans
🧂 Highly saline lakes
Structure
General Characteristics
• Unicellular
• Prokaryotic
• Microscopic
• Primitive organization

"The bacterial structure is very simple, but behaviour is very complex."

Morphological Types of Bacteria

Based on shape, bacteria are classified into four groups.

1. Coccus (Plural: Cocci)

Shape 🔵 Spherical
Examples:
• Micrococcus
• Staphylococcus

2. Bacillus (Plural: Bacilli)

Shape ▬ Rod-shaped
Examples:
• Bacillus
• Lactobacillus

3. Vibrio
Shape, Comma-shaped
Example:
• Vibrio cholerae

4. Spirillum (Plural: Spirilla)

Shape ~~~~~ Spiral-shaped

Nutrition in Bacteria
"Bacteria show the most extensive metabolic diversity."

⭐⭐Heterotrophic Bacteria
Most bacteria are heterotrophs.
They depend on other organisms for food.

A. Saprophytic Bacteria
Obtain food from:
• Dead plants
• Dead animals
• Organic wastes
Example:
 • Decomposer bacteria

Importance: They recycle nutrients.

B. Parasitic Bacteria
Live on or inside living organisms.
Cause diseases.
Examples:
• Cholera
• Typhoid
• Tetanus

Autotrophic Bacteria
Produce their own food.

A. Photosynthetic Autotrophs
Example:
• Cyanobacteria
Use sunlight for photosynthesis.

B. Chemosynthetic Autotrophs
Prepare food using energy obtained from oxidation of inorganic substances.
Examples:
Oxidise:
• NH₃ (Ammonia)
• NO₂⁻ (Nitrite)
• NO₃⁻ (Nitrate)

Reproduction in Bacteria
Asexual Reproduction
Mainly by: Binary Fission
Under Unfavourable Conditions
Produce: Spores
Example:
• Endospores
Purpose:
• Survival

Genetic Recombination
Bacteria also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction.
Actually, there is: Primitive type of DNA transfer
Methods:
• Transformation
• Transduction
• Conjugation
This increases genetic variation.

ARCHAEBACTERIA
Archaebacteria are considered: ancient organisms
Often called: Living Fossils

Special Feature: Their cell wall differs from eubacteria.

Archaebacteria Cell wall contains: Pseudopeptidoglycan (Pseudomurein) - N-Acetyl
glucosamine (NAG) + N-Acetyl talosaminuronic acid (NAT).
The special cell wall helps archaebacteria survive extreme conditions.

Whereas Eubacteria
Cell wall contains: Peptidoglycan (Murein)

Types of Archaebacteria

1. Halophiles
Halo = Salt
Live in: 🧂 Extremely salty habitats

2. Thermoacidophiles
Thermo = Heat
Acido = Acid
Live in:♨️ Hot acidic springs

3. Methanogens
Live in:
• Marshy areas
• Swamps
• Ruminant gut

Examples
Present in:
🐄 Cow
🐃 Buffalo
🐐 Goat

Importance
Produce: Methane (Biogas)

EUBACTERIA (TRUE BACTERIA)

Characteristics
• Most common bacteria
• Possess rigid cell wall
• If motile - may contain flagella ()

CYANOBACTERIA – (Cyano = Blue) (BLUE-GREEN ALGAE)

Habitat
Found in:
• Freshwater
• Marine water
• Moist soil

Body Organisation
Can be: Unicellular
Example:
• Chroococcus

Colonial: Many cells grouped together.

Filamentous: Cells arranged in chains.
Examples:
• Nostoc
• Anabaena

Gelatinous Sheath: Colonies are often surrounded by this polysaccharide layer.

Function: Protection

Heterocysts: Specialized cells found in:

• Nostoc
• Anabaena
Characteristics
• Large
• Pale coloured
• Thick walled

Function: Fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Nutrition
Photoautotrophs
Carry out: Oxygenic Photosynthesis
Like green plants.
(Whereas other eubacteria are chemosynthetic autotrophs.)

Pigment
Contain: Chlorophyll-a (Same pigment found in plants)

Economic Importance of Eubacteria:

Beneficial Roles
Decomposers
Recycle:
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Sulphur
• Iron

Food Industry
Used in:
🥛 Curd formation
Example:
 • Lactobacillus

Antibiotic Production
Many bacteria produce antibiotics.
Example: Actinomycetes

Nitrogen Fixation
Example: Rhizobium - Present in legume root nodules.

Harmful Roles
Cause diseases.

Human Diseases
Disease Causative Bacterium
Cholera Vibrio cholerae
Typhoid Salmonella typhi
Tetanus Clostridium tetani

Plant Disease
Citrus Canker
Caused by bacterium: Xanthomonas

They often form blooms in polluted water bodies.

MYCOPLASMA (PPLO)
Full Form PPLO = Pleuro Pneumonia Like Organism
Discovery First discovered in pleural fluid of cattle suffering from pneumonia.
Most Important Characteristic: Completely Lack Cell Wall

Why Important?
Because they are the smallest known living cells capable of independent existence.

Characteristics
• Prokaryotic
• Cell wall absent
• Pleomorphic (variable shape)
• Facultative anaerobes (organism that makes ATP by aerobic respiration if oxygen is present, but is capable of
switching to fermentation if oxygen is absent)

Facultative Anaerobes
Can live:
✅ In presence of oxygen
✅ In absence of oxygen

Pathogenic Nature
Many mycoplasmas cause diseases in:
• Plants
• Animals
Most Important NCERT Lines for NEET
"Bacteria are the sole members of Kingdom Monera."
"Bacteria show the most extensive metabolic diversity."
"The bacterial structure is very simple but behaviour is very complex."
"Methanogens are present in the gut of several ruminant animals and are responsible for methane production."
"Mycoplasma completely lack a cell wall."

KINGDOM PROTISTA

 Includes all single-celled eukaryote

Introduction
Kingdom Protista was introduced by Robert H. Whittaker in his Five Kingdom Classification (1969).
Protista includes: All unicellular eukaryotic organisms.
This kingdom solved one of the major problems of the earlier classification systems
Boundaries of Protista Are Not Well Defined
"The boundaries of this kingdom are not well defined."
This is because some organisms show characteristics of more than one kingdom.

For Example,
Chlamydomonas and Chlorella
• Unicellular
• Photosynthetic
• Eukaryotic
Therefore:
• A botanist may classify them as an alga (Plant).
• Another scientist may classify them as a protist.

Habitat: Primarily aquatic.

Cell Structure
Protists are: Eukaryotic
They possess:
✅ Well defined/True nucleus
✅ Membrane-bound organelles

Locomotion
Different protists move differently.
1. Movement by Cilia
Example:
• Paramecium
2. Movement by Flagella
Example:
• Euglena
3. Movement by Pseudopodia
Example:
• Amoeba
4. Passive Movement
• Some protists simply drift with water currents.

Reproduction
Protists reproduce both: Asexually and Sexually
Asexual Reproduction
Common methods:
• Binary fission
• Multiple fission

Sexual Reproduction
Involves: Cell fusion and zygote formation.

Importance of Protista
Protista forms a link among:
• Plants
• Animals
• Fungi

Why?
Some protists resemble plants.
Example:
• Chlamydomonas
• Euglena

Some resemble animals.

Example:
• Amoeba
• Paramecium

Some resemble fungi.

Example:
• Slime moulds

Thus,
Protista acts as an evolutionary bridge between major kingdoms.

Major Groups of Protista (Acc. to NCERT)

1. Chrysophytes
Includes:
• Diatoms
• Golden algae (Desmids)
Characteristics:
• Mostly aquatic
• Photosynthetic
• Microscopic

2. Dinoflagellates
Characteristics:
• Mostly marine
• Photosynthetic
• Two flagella
Examples:
• Gonyaulax
• Ceratium
Some cause:
Red Tides

3. Euglenoids
Example:
• Euglena
Unique feature:
• Photosynthetic in sunlight
• Heterotrophic in darkness
Thus they show both plant-like and animal-like characteristics.

4. Slime Moulds
Characteristics:
• Fungus-like protists
• Saprophytic
• Form spores
Example:
• Physarum

5. Protozoans
Animal-like protists.
Examples:
• Amoeba
• Paramecium
• Plasmodium
• Trypanosoma

 In this book Protista include:

 Chrysophytes
 Dinoflagellates
 Euglenoids
 Slime moulds and Protozoans.

1. CHRYSOPHYTES:

 This group includes diatoms and golden algae (desmids).

 Habitat: found in fresh water as well as in marine.
 Cell: Microscopic
 Cell structure: Cell walls form two thin overlapping shells, which fit together as a soap box.
  The walls are embedded with silica* (hydrated silicon dioxide)
 This make the walls are indestructible.
 Thus, diatoms have left behind large amount of cell wall deposits in their
habitat.
 this get accumulates over billions of years forms a ‘diatomaceous
earth’.
 Movement: Float passively in water currents (plankton).
 Nutrition: Most of them are photosynthetic.
Uses:
 Diatoms are the chief producers* in the oceans.
 Being gritty this soil is used in polishing, filtration of oils and syrups.

2. DINOFLAGELLATES:

 Habitat: Mostly marine.

 Cell: cell wall has stiff cellulose* plates on the outer surface.
 Depending on the type of main pigments present in their cells, they appear in yellow, green, brown, blue or
red colour.
 Movement: Most of them have two flagella.
 One lies longitudinally and the other transversely in a furrow between the wall plates.
 Nutrition: Most of them are photosynthetic.
 Red tides: Very often, red dinoflagellates like Gonyaulax undergo such rapid
multiplication and form billions of cells.
 They make the tides/sea appear red.
 Some of them even releases/secretes toxins.
 they may even kill other marine animals like fishes.

3. EUGLENOIDS:

 Habitat: Majority of them are fresh water

 Found in stagnant water.
 Cell: Cell wall is absent.
 Instead they have a protein rich layer called ‘pellicle’ -
which makes their body flexible.
 Movement: They have two flagella.
 One short and one long.
 Nutrition: They are photosynthetic if sunlight is
available.
 They become heterotrophs (predating on other smaller organisms) if sunlight isn’t available/deprived.
 Interestingly, the pigments of euglenoids are identical to those present in higher plants.
• Example: Euglena

CHRYSOPHYTES DINOFLAGELLATES EUGLENOIDS

Diatoms and Golden algae
(desmids).
Fresh water as well as in marine Mostly marine Found in fresh water and in stagnant
water
Float passively in water currents Have two flagella Have two flagella.
(plankton). One lies longitudinally and other One short and one long.
transversely.
Most of them are photosynthetic. Most of them are photosynthetic. Photosynthetic (if sunlight is available);
Chief producers of oceans.
 Predating on other smaller organisms (if
sunlight isn’t available).
Walls are embedded with silica* Cell wall has stiff cellulose* plates Cell wall is absent; have a protein rich
layer called ‘pellicle’
Forms a ‘diatomaceous earth’ Appear in yellow, green, brown,
blue or red color.
Uses:
Used in polishing, filtration of oils Red dinoflagellates like Gonyaulax
and syrups. form Red tides
Some of them even
releases/secretes toxins.

4. SLIME MOULDS:

 Nutrition: These are Saprophytic protists.

 When conditions are suitable/favourable - the body moves along decaying twigs and leaves engulfing organic
material and form a plasmodium (an aggregate structure) - which may grow and spread over several feet.
 Reproduction: 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
 Unicellular.
 Lack cell wall.
 They are believed to be primitive relatives of animals.
 All are heterotrophs and live as predators or parasites.
  There are four major groups of protozoans.

I. Amoeboid Protozoans:
 Live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil.
 Marine forms have silica shells* on their surface.
 Organisms like Amoeba forms a pseudopodia (false feet)
 This helps in movement and capture their prey.
 Some of them are parasites.
E.g Entamoeba - cause Amoebiasis.

II. Flagellated Protozoans:

 Have flagella.
 Members are either free-living or parasitic.
 Parasitic forms cause diseases such as ‘Sleeping sickness’
(also known as African trypanosomiasis).
• Example: Trypanosoma brucei.

III. Ciliated Protozoans:

 Aquatic.
 Have thousands of cilia – helps in active movement of organisms.
 They have a gullet (a cavity) 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: Paramoecium

IV. Sporozoans:
 Have an infectious spore-forming protozoan.
 Mostly parasite.
 Non motile (no flagella and no cilia).
• Example: Plasmodium
 the most notorious malarial parasite.
 which causes malaria, a disease which has a staggering effect on human population.

KINGDOM FUNGI

 A unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms.

 They show a great diversity in morphology and habitat.

Habitat:
 Fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on
animals and plants.
 They prefer to grow in warm and humid places.

Cell structure:
 Eukaryotic.
 Cell wall is composed of chitin (N-acetylglucosamine units
linked by β-1,4 glycosidic bonds) and other
polysaccharides.

Body organisation:
 Except yeasts (unicellular), fungi are filamentous.
  Their bodies consist of ' slender (thin) thread-like structures called ‘hyphae’.
 The network of hyphae is known as ‘mycelium’.

 The mycelium may be an aseptate or septate (have cross walls or septae in their hyphae)
 In aseptate mycelium, hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated
cytoplasm – these are called ‘coenocytic hyphae.’

Nutrition:
 Most fungi are heterotrophic.
 Saprophytes’ - absorb soluble organic matter from dead substrates.
 Parasites - that depends on living plants and animals.
 Symbionts:
i. Lichens – Fungi in association with algae.
ii. Mycorrhiza – Fungi in association with the roots of higher plants. (E.g. Pinus)

Reproduction:

 Vegetative - Fragmentation, fission and budding.

 Asexual reproduction - by spores called ‘Conidia (exogenously)’ or ‘Sporangiospores’ (endogenously) or
‘Zoospores’(endogenously).
 Sexual reproduction - by Oospores, Ascospores and Basidiospores.
 These various spores are produced in distinct structures called fruiting bodies.
 ▪ The sexual cycle involves the following three steps:
 Plasmogamy: Fusion of protoplasm of two motile or non-motile gametes.
 Karyogamy: Fusion of two nuclei.
 Meiosis: Occurs in zygote resulting in the formation of haploid spores (n).

When a fungus reproduces sexually:

 Two haploid hyphae, of compatible mating types, come close together and fuse.
 In some fungi, the fusion of two haploid cells *immediately results in the formation of diploid cells (2n).
 However, in other fungi like ascomycetes* and basidiomycetes*

 fusion of two haploid cells results in the formation of an intervening dikaryotic stage (n + n, i.e., two nuclei per
cell) called a dikaryon and the phase is called dikaryophase of fungus.
 Later, the parental nuclei fuse (karyogamy) and the cells become diploid (2n).
 The fungi form fruiting bodies.
 In which reduction division (meiosis) occurs, leading to formation of haploid spores (n).
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
 Yeast (unicellular fungi) is used to make - bread and beer.
 Some are parasites. e.g. Albugo form White spots - on mustard leaves
 Some are pathogenic - cause diseases in plants and animals
• E.g., Puccinia – Wheat rust
 Some are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium.

 Based on the morphology of the mycelium,

mode of spore formation and
fruiting bodies, the kingdom of fungi is divided into various classes.

Q. Have you ever wondered why we keep food in the refrigerator?

• Yes, it is to prevent food from going bad due to bacterial or fungal infections.
• You must have seen fungi on a moist bread and rotten fruits.
• The common mushroom you eat and toadstools are also fungi.

 Algal-like appearance (filamentous, branched)

1. PHYCOMYCETES:
 Aquatic habitats
 Algal fungi  Some members of this group, like Oomycetes, possess
Habitat: cell walls primarily composed of cellulose.
 Found in aquatic habitats.
✓ and on decaying wood present in moist and damp places or
✓ obligate parasites on plants.
Body organisation: Mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic.

Reproduction:
Asexual:
 by motile - Zoospores (n) or
 by non-motile – Aplanospores (n).
 These spores are produced endogenously* in sporangium.
Sexual reproduction:
 A zygospore (2n) is formed by fusion of two haploid gametes.
 These gametes are similar in morphology (isogamous) or dissimilar (anisogamous or oogamous).

Some common examples:

 Albugo (the parasitic fungi on mustard).
 Mucor (Found in soil, decaying organic matter like fallen
leaves and compost)
 Rhizopus (the bread mould).
 Gametangia are specialized
structures that produce gametes
(sex cells).

2. ASCOMYCETES:

 Commonly known as ‘sac-fungi’ (sac = a hollow space or container or a pouch)

Body organisation:
 Mostly multicellular e.g., Penicillium
or
rarely unicellular, e.g., Yeast (Saccharomyces).
 Mycelium is branched and septate.

Nutrition:
 Saprophytic or decomposers,
 Parasitic or
 Coprophilous (growing on dung).

Reproduction:

i. Asexual reproduction:
 Conidia spores (n) are produced exogenously on the special mycelium called conidiophores.
 Conidia on germination produces haploid mycelium.

ii. Sexual reproduction:

by ascospores - produced endogenously in sac like asci (singular ascus).
 These asci are arranged in different types of fruiting bodies called ascocarps.
 There are 4 types –
 Apothecium
 Perithecium
 Cleistothecium
 Hysterothecium

Aspergillus is the most common laboratory weed.

Some common examples: It is also called 'Guinea pig' of plant kingdom.
 Aspergillus Aspergillus flavus produces carcinogenic toxin called aflatoxin.
 Claviceps and
 Neurospora – is extensively used in biochemical and genetic work.
 Many members like morels and truffles are edible and are considered delicacies.
3. BASIDIOMYCETES:

 Commonly known as ‘club-fungi’

 Commonly known forms are mushrooms, bracket fungi or puffballs

Club shaped: Object that is thicker at one

end and tapers towards the other,
resembling a club or a baseball bat.

The club-shaped basidia are crucial for

sexual reproduction in Basidiomycetes, as
they produce and release the sexual spores
Habitat: Grow in soil, on logs and tree stumps.
called basidiospores.
 As a parasite on plant bodies e.g., rusts and smuts.
Body organisation:
Smutty = Soiled or a dirty, dark, and powdery
 The mycelium is branched and septate.
appearance.
Reproduction:
Vegetative: by fragmentation (It is common in this group)
Asexual: Asexual spores are not found.
Sexual: The sex organs are absent but plasmogamy occur.
 Plasmogamy: Involves fusion of two vegetative or somatic cells of different strains or genotypes.
• The resultant structure is dikaryotic - which ultimately gives rise to basidium (a specialized reproductive
structure).
 Karyogamy and then meiosis take place in the basidium producing 4 (n) basidiospores.
 • The basidiospores are exogenously produced on the basidium (pl.: basidia).
• The basidia are arranged in fruiting bodies called basidiocarps.

Some common examples:

 Agaricus (mushroom)
 Puccinia (Rust fungus) and
 Ustilago (Smut).

4. DEUTEROMYCETES

Body organisation: The mycelium is septate and branched.

Nutrition:
 Large/most of them are decomposers of litter - help in mineral cycling.
 Some members are saprophytes or parasites
Reproduction:
Asexual: Only by asexual spores known as ‘conidia’.
Sexual: Unknown.
 Commonly known as imperfect fungi - because only the asexual or vegetative phases are known in these
fungi.
 The fungi were correctly identified and moved out of deuteromycetes if they establish the linkages with any
other fungal classes.
 When the sexual forms of these fungi were discovered, they were moved into classes they rightly belong to.
 It is also possible that the asexual and vegetative stage have been given one name (and placed under
deuteromycetes) and
The sexual stage has been given another name (and placed under another class).
 Once perfect (sexual) stages were discovered members of deuteromycete were often moved either in to
ascomycetes or basidiomycetes.

Some common examples:

 Alternaria
 Colletotrichum and
 Trichoderma.
 KINGDOM PLANTAE

 Includes all eukaryotic chloroplast/chlorophyll-containing organisms commonly called plants.

 A few members are partially heterotrophic such as the insectivorous plants or parasites.
• For example: Bladderwort and Venus fly trap - insectivorous plants.
 Cuscuta is a - parasite.

Cell structure:
 Eukaryotic with prominent chloroplasts.
 Cell wall mainly made of cellulose.
 Plantae includes algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes,
gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Life cycle:
Have two distinct phases –

i. Sporophytic – Diploid (2n)

ii. Gametophytic - Haploid (n) phases.
 These phases alternate with each other.
 The lengths of each phase, and which phase is dominant,
which phase is/are free-living or which phase is dependent
on others is vary among different groups in plants.
 This phenomenon is called ‘alternation of generation’.

KINGDOM ANIMALIA

 Includes all multicellular heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms their cells lack cell walls.
 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.
 Mode of nutrition: Holozoic – by ingestion of food.
 They follow a definite growth pattern
 They grow into adults that have a definite shape and size.
 Higher level organisms show elaborate sensory and neuromotor mechanism.
 Locomotion: Most of them are capable of locomotion.
 Reproduction: The sexual reproduction is by copulation of male and female followed by embryological
development.

VIRUSES, VIROIDS, PRIONS AND LICHENS

 In Whittaker’s five-kingdom classification - there is no mention of lichens and some acellular organisms like
viruses, viroids and prions.
VIRUSES:
 They did not find a place in classification system since they are not considered truly ‘living’.
 They are acellular or non-cellular organisms that are characterised by having an inert crystalline structure
outside the living cell.
 Once they infect a living cell, they take over the machinery of the host cell to replicate themselves, killing the
host.

Q. Would you call viruses living or non-living?

 Virus means venom or poisonous fluid.

 Dmitri Ivanowsky (1892):

 He recognised certain microbes are causing (as causal organism) mosaic disease in tobacco
plant.
 These microbes were found to be smaller than bacteria because they passed through bacteria-
proof filters.

 M.W. Beijerinek (1898):

 He demonstrated that, the extract (fluid taken) of the infected plants of tobacco could cause
infection in healthy plants and named the new pathogen “virus” (i.e. he coined the term virus)
and called that fluid as Contagium vivum fluidum (infectious living fluid).

 W.M. Stanley (1935):

 Viruses are obligate parasites
 They are inert/inactive if they are present outside their specific host cell.
 He showed that viruses could be crystallised and crystals consist largely of proteins.

General Characters:
 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 nucleo-protein and the genetic material is infectious.

Virus Their genetic material

Viruses that infect plants (Plant viruses) Single Stranded RNA (ssRNA)
Viruses that infect Animals (Animal viruses) Either ssRNA or dsRNA or dsDNA
Bacteriophages (Bacterial viruses) dsDNA

• Bacteriophages = Viruses that infect the bacteria

 The protein coat that covers the nucleic acid/genetic material is called ‘capsid’.
 Capsid is made of small subunits called ‘capsomeres’
 Function: It protects the nucleic acid.
 These capsomeres are arranged in helical or polyhedral geometric forms.
  Some of the viral diseases in animals:
 Mumps, Small pox, Herpes, Influenza and AIDS (in humans)

 In plants, the symptoms can be;

 Mosaic formation, leaf rolling and curling, yellowing and vein clearing, dwarfing and stunted growth.

VIROIDS:
 T.O. Diener (In 1971) discovered that.
 The potato spindle tuber disease (PSTD) is caused by some new infectious agent – which
is smaller than the viruses.
 He found it was a free RNA and not having any protein coat on it, hence the name ‘viroid’.
 Simply, viroids are infectious RNA particles devoid of protein coat.
 The RNA of the viroid was of low molecular weight.

PRION(S):
 An abnormally folded protein.
 It was similar in size to viruses.
 It acts as an agent which transmits certain infectious neurological diseases.
 Proteinaceous infectious particles, causing certain diseases like;
 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in cattle, - commonly called Mad cow disease.

 Creutz Feldt Jakob disease (CJD) or Cr–Jacob disease – an analogous variant of BSE in humans.
 Scrapie disease in sheep
 Kuru disease (laughing death disease in humans)

LICHENS:
 Lichens are symbiotic associations i.e. mutually useful associations, between algae and fungi.
 The autotrophic algal component is known as ‘phycobiont’ and the heterotrophic
fungal component is known as ‘mycobiont’
 Algae - prepare food for fungi and
 Fungi- provide shelter and absorb mineral nutrients and water for its partner.
 Lichens do not grow in polluted areas hence they can act as a very good pollution indicator.
In the context of protists, specifically plasmodial slime molds, the term "true wall" refers to the cell wall found in the
spore stage of the organism.

The plasmodium itself, which is the feeding stage, lacks a true cell wall and is a mass of multinucleated protoplasm.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Plasmodium:

This is the vegetative, feeding stage of plasmodial slime molds.

It is a large, multinucleated mass of cytoplasm that moves and engulfs food.

It is essentially a single cell with many nuclei.

True Wall:

During their life cycle, slime molds form fruiting bodies that produce spores. These spores have a protective structure
called a "true wall", which is often made of cellulose. This wall helps the spores survive harsh conditions.
Distinction:

The key difference is that the plasmodium, the active feeding stage, is essentially a naked
mass of protoplasm without a cell wall, while the spore stage has a true, protective cell wall.