Chapter 2- Revision Notes - Biological Classification

Terms Revision:

1
Thallus : Plant body without true stem, root & Leaf.
.
2
Plankton : Plants floating passively in water current.
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3
Halophiles : Organism living in salty areas.
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4 Chemosynthet
: Using chemical reactions as energy source
. ic
5 Unable to synthesise own food and dependent on others
Heterotrophic :
. for food.
6
Pathogenic : Disease causing microrganism- virus, bacteria or fungi
.

8
Saprophyte : Organism feeding on dead & decaying organic matter.
.
9
Parasite : Organism which depend on living host for food
.
1
0 Symbionts : Two organisms living together benefiting each other
.
1
1 Plasmogamy : Fusion of cytoplasm.
.

1
Karyogamy : Fusion of nuclei.
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2
Dikaryon : A cell with two nuclei.
.
3
Dikaryophase : Stage of fungus with dikaryotic cells.
.
4
Isogamous : : Morphologically identical gametes
.
5
Anisogamous : Morphologically non identical Gametes.
.
6
Oogamous : Female gamete oosphere and Male gamete motile.
.

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.
Importance of classification-
 ● It is not possible to study every organism. Study of one or two organism of a group
gives sufficient information about the essential features of the group.
● It helps in identification of new organism.

● Classification helps in knowing the relationship amongst different groups of

organisms.
● The organism of past cannot be studied without a proper system of classification.

Classification

● Artificial system of classification

● Natural system of classification
● Phylogenetic system of classification

Artificial system of classification– Only one or two morphological characters for grouping of
organism is used. Flowering and non-flowering plants, enaima and anaima. Aristotle
classification.
Natural system of classification– Takes into consideration comparable study of a number of
characters so as to bring out natural similarities and dissimilarities and hence natural
relationships among the organisms. Bentham and Hooker classification, etc.
Phylogenetic System of Classification– Based on the evolutionary relationship of organisms. In
this system organism are classified on the basis of their evolution on earth from primitive to
highly evolved. Engler and Prantl classification and Hutchinson classification, etc.
Depending upon the type of system of classification organism are classified into following
kingdom system.
Kingdom system of classification

● Two kingdom : Plantae Animalia

● Three kingdom : Plantae Protista Animalia
● Five kingdom : Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animaila
● In two kingdom system of classification organisms are grouped on the basis of presence
and absence of cell wall as proposed by Linnaeus( father of taxonomy).
● Three kingdom systems- Haeckel separated unicellular animals, algae and fungi on the
basis of lack of tissue differentiation and new kingdom Protista was introduced.
● Five kingdom systems- [Link] divided all the organism into five kingdom in order
to develop phylogenetic classification.

1. Monera– The kingdom includes all prokaryotes- mycoplasma, bacteria, actinomycetes

and cyanobacteria.

1. Unicellular, prokaryotes and contain the most primitive of living forms

2. The cells are microscopic and cell wall is generally present.
3. Genetic materials are not organized into nucleus and contain naked DNA.
 4. Membrane bounded organelles are absent.
5. Reproduction is asexual except gene recombination.
6. Flagella may be present and are of single stranded.

Example- Blue-green algae, Bacteria, etc.

Bacteria are the most abundant micro-organism that can survive in all kinds of climate.

● They are group of most primitive prokaryotes which live under most hostile conditions
like extreme salty area (halophiles), hot springs (thermoacidophiles) and marshy area
(methanogens). They differ from other bacteria in having different cell wall structure
(absence of peptidoglycan). Methanogens are present in the gut of several ruminant
animals like cows and buffalo, which is responsible for production of biogas (methane)
from dung of these animals.

Eubacteria – They are called as true bacteria. They contain rigid cell wall, if motile contain
flagellum. Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae are gram positive photosynthetic bacteria. They
contain chlorophyll a and carotenoids. They may be unicellular, colonial or filamentous, fresh
water, marine or terrestrial. Some of them have specialized heterocyst cells to perform nitrogen
fixation (Nostoc and Anabaena).
Chemosynthetic bacteria oxidize inorganic substances like nitrate, nitrite, ammonia etc. to
produce energy and help in recycling of nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur etc.
Heterotrophic bacteria are most abundant and act as decomposer. They are helpful in production
of curd, antibiotic and fixing nitrogen in leguminous plants. Some of them are pathogenic and
cause disease like cholera, typhoid, tetanus and citrus canker.
Mycoplasma – they are the simplest free living prokaryotes. They are also known as PPLO
(Pleuropneumonia like organism). They lack cell wall and can survive without oxygen. They cause
disease in plants and animals.
Protista– Kingdom Protista includes Chrysophytes, Dinoflagellates, Eugleoids, slime mould and
Protozoans.

1. It includes all unicellular and colonial eukaryotes.

2. Most of them are aquatic forming plankton.
3. Mode of nutrition may be photosynthetic, saprophytic, parasitic or holozoic.
4. Flagella if present are 11 stranded with 9+2 arrangement of microtubules composed of
tubulin.
5. Genetic material consists of 2 or more DNA molecules.

● They includes diatoms and golden algae (desmids) found in fresh water as well as marine
water.
● In diatoms cell wall forms two thin overlapping cells which fit together as in soap box.

● The siliceous indestructible cell wall pile up at the bottom of water reservoirs and form
big heaps called diatomaceous earth. It may extend for hundred meter and used for
polishing, filtration of oil and syrups. They are chief producer in oceans.
● They are basically unicellular, motile, biflagellate and photosynthetic protists.

● Predominate colour is golden brown but yellow, green, red and even blue also exists.
● Some Dinoflagellates like Gymnodinium and Gonyaulax grow in large number in the sea
and make the water look red and cause the so called “red tide”.
● They are Euglena like unicellular flagellates which possess pellicle instead of cell wall
which make their body flexible.
● They have two flagella, one short and other long.

● They are photosynthetic in presence of sunlight and act as predators in absence of

sunlight.
● Example- Euglena, Peranema.

Slime Moulds
 ● They are saprophytic protists and feeds on decaying twigs and leaves.
● Under favorable condition, they form an aggregation called plasmodium which produce
fruiting bodies bearing spores.
● The cell wall of spores contain cellulose.

● The spores are dispersed by air currents.

● Example- Physarum, Fuligo.

Protozoans

● All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predators or parasites.

● They are considered as primitive relatives of animals.
● Amoeboids move and capture food by pseudopodia. Some are parasitic also.
● Flagellated protozoans are free-living or parasitic. They have flagella.
● Ciliated protozoans are aquatic and have cilia all over the body for movement.
● Sporozoans includes organism that have infectious spore like stage in their life cycle.

Kingdom Fungi–

● They are achlorophyllous, heterotrophic, spore forming, non-vesicular eukaryotic

organisms.
● Cell wall is made up of chitin or fungal cellulose.

● Reserved food is glycogen.

● Mode of nutrition is saprophytic, parasitic or symbiotic.
● Reproduction may be vegetative (fragmentation, fission or budding), asexual (conidia,
sporangiospores or zoospores) or sexual reproduction by oospores, ascospore and
basidiospores.
 ● Sexual cycles involves the following steps-

1. Plasmogamy, fusion of male and female gametes.

2. Karyogamy, fusion of two nuclei.
3. Meiosis in zygote to produce haploid spores.

Phycomycetes–

● They are found in aquatic habitat and on decaying wood in moist and damp places.
● The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic.
● Asexual reproduction by zoospores( motile) or aplanospores (non-motile).
● Example- Mucus, Rhizop1234us, Albugo etc.

Ascomycetes (The sac fungi)

● They are saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous (growing on dung).

● Mycelium and branched and septate and asexual spores are conidia.
● Sexual spores are called ascospores produced inside the fruiting body called ascocarps.

Example- Neurospora, Asperigillus, Claviceps etc.

Basidiomycetes (The club fungi)

● The mycelium is branched and septate.

● Vegetative reproduction is by fragmentation. Asexual spores are not found. Sexual
reproduction is by two vegetative or somatic cells forming basidium.
● Basidiospores are produced in basidium by developing a fruiting body called
basidiocarps.
● Example- Agaricus, Ustilago, Puccinia.

Deuteromycetes (The fungi imperfect)

● Only vegetative and asexual phase is known.

 ● Mycelium is septate and branched. Some members are saprophytes or parsites.
● Example- Alternaria, Trichoderma, Colletotrichu.

Kingdom Plantae

1. Eukaryotic, chlorophyll bearing organism.

2. Life cycle is divided into diploid saprophytic and haploid gametophytic, which alternate
with each other.
3. Kingdom Plantae includes Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and
Angiosperms.

Kingdom Animalia

1. Heterotrophic, eukaryotic organisms that are multicellular and cell wall is absent in the
cell.
2. Mode of nutrition is holozoic and reserve food is glycogen or fats.
3. Sexual reproduction is by copulation between male and female followed by embryological
development.

Virus, Viroids and Lichens

Five kingdom system of classification do not includes Virus, Viroids and Lichens.

● Viruses are non-cellular organisms having inert crystalline structure outside the living.
When they enter the living cell, they take over the machinery of living cell to replicate
themselves.
● [Link] recognized certain microbes as causal organism of mosaic disease of
tobacco.
● In addition to proteins, viruses also contain genetic material that could be DNA or RNA. In
general, virus that infect plants have single stranded RNA and virus that infect animals
have double stranded DNA.
● Some common diseases caused by virus are common cold, influenza, AIDS, small pox, leaf
rolling and curling.
● Bacteria feeding virus are called [Link] are usually double stranded DNA
viruses.
● The protein coat called capsid is made of small subunits called capsomeres, protects the
nucleic acid. These capsomeres are arranged in helical or polyhedral geometric forms.
● Viroids are discovered by [Link] as new infectious agent smaller than virus causing
potato spindle tuber disease. They are free RNA without protein coat.

Lichens are symbiotic association between algae and fungi. The algal part is
called Phycobiont and fungal parts are called Mycobiont. They are good pollution indicator as
they do not grow in polluted area.