BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION

•Since the dawn of civilization, there have been many attempts to classify living organisms.
• It was done instinctively not using criteria that were scientific but borne out of a need to use organisms for
our own use – for food, shelter and clothing.
•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 and those that did not.

TWO KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION

In Linnaeus' time a Two Kingdom system of classification with Plantae and Animalia kingdoms was
developed that included all plants and animals respectively.

A. KINGDOM PLANTAE
Bacteria
Algae (Both unicellular and multicellular)
Plants
Fungi
B. KINGDOM ANIMALIA
Unicellular protozoans
Multi-cellular animals
DEMERITS OF TWO KINGDOM SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION
a) This system did not distinguish between
1. The eukaryotes and prokaryotes
[Link] and multicellular organisms
3. Photosynthetic (green algae) and non-photosynthetic (fungi) organisms.
b)Classification of organisms into plants and animals was easily done and was easy to understand, but, a
large number of organisms did not fall into either category. Hence the two kingdom classification used
for a long time was found inadequate.
•Besides, gross morphology a need was also felt for including other characteristics like cell structure, nature
of wall, mode of nutrition, habitat, methods of reproduction, evolutionary relationships, etc.
• Classification systems for the living organisms have hence, undergone several changes over the time.
•Though plant and animal kingdoms have been a constant under all different systems, the understanding of
what groups/organisms be included under these kingdoms have been changing; the number and nature of
other kingdoms have also been understood differently by different scientists over the time.
THREE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
Proposed by Ernst Heckel.
The three kingdoms proposed by him were
A. Kingdom Plantae
B. Kingdom Animalia
C. Kingdom Protista
A. KINGDOM PLANTAE
Multicellular Plants
B. KINGDOM ANIMALIA
Multicellular Animals
C. KINGDOM PROTISTA
Bacteria
Unicellular Algae
Protozoa
Fungi
FOUR KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
Proposed by Copeland in 1956.
The four kingdoms proposed by him were
A. Kingdom Plantae
B. Kingdom Animalia
C. Kingdom Protista
D. Kingdom Monera
A. KINGDOM PLANTAE
Multicellular Plants
Fungi
B. KINGDOM ANIMALIA
Multicellular Animals
C. KINGDOM PROTISTA
Unicellular Algae
Protozoa
D. KINGDOM MONERA
Bacteria
FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
•R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed a Five Kingdom Classification.
•The kingdoms defined by him were named
1)Monera
2)Protista,
3)Fungi
4)Plantae
5)Animalia
•The main criteria for classification used by him include
a)Cell structure
b)Body organisation
c)Mode of nutrition
d)Reproduction
e)Phylogenetic relationships
COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO AND FIVE KINGDOM SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION
• Earlier classification systems included bacteria, blue green algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and
the angiosperms under ‘Plants’.
•The character that unified this whole kingdom was that all the organisms included had a cell wall in their
cells.
•This placed together groups which widely differed in other characteristics.
•It brought together the prokaryotic bacteria and the blue green algae (cyanobacteria) with other groups which
were eukaryotic.
• It also grouped together the unicellular organisms and the multicellular ones, say, for example,
Chlamydomonas and Spirogyra were placed together under algae.
• The classification did not differentiate between the heterotrophic group – fungi, and the autotrophic
green plants, though they also showed a characteristic difference in their walls composition – the fungi had
chitin in their walls while the green plants had a cellulosic cell wall.
•When such characteristics were considered, the fungi were placed in a separate kingdom – Kingdom Fungi.
•All prokaryotic organisms were grouped together under Kingdom Monera and the unicellular eukaryotic
organisms were placed in Kingdom Protista.
• Kingdom Protista has brought together Chlamydomonas, Chlorella (earlier placed in Algae within
Plants and both having cell walls) with Paramoecium and Amoeba (which were earlier placed in the
animal kingdom which lack cell wall).
•It has put together organisms which, in earlier classifications, were placed in different kingdoms. This
happened because the criteria for classification changed.
•This kind of changes will take place in future too depending on the improvement in our understanding of
characteristics and evolutionary relationships.
•Over time, an attempt has been made to evolve a classification system which reflects not only the
morphological, physiological and reproductive similarities, but is also phylogenetic, i.e., is based on
evolutionary relationships.
•The three-domain system has also been proposed that divides the Kingdom Monera into two domains,
leaving the remaining eukaryotic kingdoms in the third domain and thereby a six kingdom classification.
 This system of classification was proposed by Carl Woese.
THREE DOMAIN CLASSIFICATION
[Link]/Archebacteria
[Link]
[Link]
SIX KINGDOM SYSYEM OF CLASSIFICATION
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
KINGDOM MONERA
•Bacteria are the sole members of the Kingdom Monera.
•They are the most abundant micro-organisms.
HABITAT:
•Bacteria occur almost everywhere.
•Hundreds of bacteria are present in a handful of soil.
•They also live in extreme habitats such as hot springs, deserts, snow and deep oceans where very few other
life forms can survive.
 Many of them live in or on other organisms as parasites

STRUCTURE OF BACTERIA:
Though the bacterial structure is very simple, they are very complex in behaviour.
[Link] ENVELOPE
•It is the outermost protective unit of the bacteria.
•Depending on difference in cell envelope and response to staining developed by Gram, bacteria are of 2
types
a)Gram positive
b)Gram negative
•The cell envelope is 3 layered
a)Glycocalyx
b)Cell wall
c)Plasma membrane
a)GLYCOCALYX
•It is present in 2 forms
Slime layer-When Glycocalyx is present in the form of loose sheath.
Capsule-When Glycocalyx is thick and tough.
b) CELL WALL
•It determines the shape of the cell.
•It provides structural support to the cell.
•It prevents bacterium from bursting and collapsing.
•It is the heteropolymer of NAG and NAM.
•Cell wall absent in Mycoplasma.
c) PLASMA MEMBRANE
•It is semi-permeable in nature.
•It is structurally similar to Eukaryotic plasma membrane.
•The infolding of plasma membrane forms mesosome.
•The cell wall present sorrounding the plasma membrane.
Exception-Mycoplasma
[Link]
•Presence of mesosome is the characteristic of Prokaryotes.
•It is present in the form of vesicles,tubules and lamellae.
[Link]
•It is present in cyanobacteria.
•It is the membranous extension containing pigments.
4. CYTOPLASM
•The fluid matrix present inside the cell is called cytoplasm.
5. NUCLEUS
•In prokaryotes the nucleus is not well defined.
•The nuclear material remains exposed in the cytoplasm called Nucleiod or Genophore.
•Genetic material is naked, not enveloped by nuclear membrane,double stranded circular DNA not
associated with histone proteins.
6. PLASMIDS
•It is small circular Extra-chromosomal or non-genomic DNA.
•Some plasmids show resistance to antibiotics.
•Plasmids are used in bacterial transformation.
7. CELL ORGANELLES
•No membrane bound cell organelles are found in prokaryotes.
8. RIBOSOMES
•In prokaryotes the ribosomes are associated with the plasma membrane and also present in the cytoplasm.
•It is 70S type formed by the association of two subunits i.e.50S (larger subunit) and 30S (smaller subunit).
•Ribosome is the site for protein synthesis.
•Sometimes several prokaryotic ribosomes may attached to a single mRNA and form a chain called
polysomes or polyribosomes.
•It translates mRNA into proteins.

9. INCLUSION BODIES
•It is the reserve food materials present in the cytoplasm.
•It is not bound by any membrane.
e.g. Phosphate granules
 Cyanophycean granules
Glycogen granules
•Gas vacuoles are found in blue green and purple and green photosynthetic bacteria.
10. FLAGELLA
•Flagella present in motile bacteria.
•It is the filamentous extension from the cell wall.
•It is made up of protein Flagellin.
•A flagella is having 3 parts i.e. Filament, Hook and Basal body.
•Filament is the longest portion of the flagella extended from cell to outside.
ARRANGEMENT OF FLAGELLA ON BACTERIAL CELL:
Atrichous: flagellum absent in bacteria.

Monotrichous:Single flagellum is present on one end of the bacterial cell.

Amphitrichous: One flagellum is present on each end of the bacterial cell.

Lophotrichous: Group of flagella is present at one end of the bacterial cell.

Cephalotrichous: Group of flagella are present at both ends of the bacterial cell.

Peritrichous: Numerous flagella are present all over the surface of the bacterial body.

11. PILI/FIMBRAE
•They are present on the surface of the bacteria.
•They do not play any role in motility.
•They are made up of protein pilin.
Pili-Elongated,narrow,tubular
Help in conjugation.
Fimbrae-Small,bristle like fibres
Help attach the bacteria to rocks in stream and to host tissues
TYPES OF BACTERIA:
•Bacteria are grouped under four categories based on their shape:
a)Coccus (pl.: cocci) - spherical [Link] pneumoniae
b)Bacillus (pl.: bacilli) - rod-shaped [Link] coli (E. coli)
c)Vibrium (pl.: vibrio) - comma-shaped [Link] cholerae
d)Spirillum (pl.: spirilla) - spiral [Link] volutans
TYPES OF COCCUS BACTERIA:
Monococcus – single coccus.
Diplococcus – cocci arranged in pair.
Streptococcus – cocci arranged in chains.
Staphylococcus – clusters of cocci.
Tetrads – cocci in groups of four.
Sarcina – cocci in groups of eight.

•Bacteria can also be classified into two groups based on the Composition of the Cell Wall
a)Gram-positive bacteria
b)Gram-negative bacteria

Characteristics Gram-Positive bacteria Gram-Negative bacteria

Cell Wall Single-layered, smooth cell wall Double-layered, wavy cell-wall
Cell Wall thickness 20 to 80 nanometres 8 to 10 nanometres
Peptidoglycan Layer Thick/ can be multilayered Thin/ often single-layered
Teichoic acids Present Absent
Lipopolysaccharide Absent Present
Lipid content Very low 20 to 30%
Resistance to Antibiotic More susceptible More resistant
Gram Staining appear as purple-coloured appear as pink-coloured
Examples Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, etc. Escherichia, Salmonella, etc.
NUTRITION IN BACTERIA:
•Compared to many other organisms, bacteria as a group show the most extensive metabolic diversity.

Nutrition

Autotrophic Heterotrophic

Photo-autotrophic Chemo-autotrophic Saprophytic Parasitic

Autotrophic - They synthesise their own food from inorganic substrates.

Heterotrophs - They depend on other organisms or on dead organic matter for food.
a)PHOTO-AUTOTROPHS - They drive energy from sunlight to synthesize food.
6CO2 +12H2O C6H12O6 +6O2 +6H2O
e.g. Cyanobacteria
b) CHEMO-AUTOTROPHS - They drive energy from chemicals to synthesize food.
18H2S + 6CO2 + 3O2 → C6H12O6 (carbohydrate) + 12H2O + 18S
e.g. Sulfur bacteria
c) PARASITE - They depend on other living organisms for food.
d) SAPROPHYTE - They depend on dead organic matters for food.
REPRODUCTION IN BACTERIA
Bacteria reproduce asexually by binary fission. They also show genetic transfer through recombination that
results in non-identical daughter cells.
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION (BINARY FISSION):
•It is a common and simple method of asexual reproduction in bacteria.
• In this process the parent cell divides into two, leading to two equal-sized daughter cells.
•Under favourable conditions, bacteria multiply rapidly and may double in 15-20 minutes.

BACTERIAL RECOMBINATION:
Bacteria also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction by adopting a primitive type of DNA transfer
from one bacterium to the [Link] Recombination is usually carried out in one of the three ways:
[Link] – Here, the DNA from one bacteria is transferred to another bacteria.
[Link] – Here, the DNA is transferred from one bacterial cell to a different bacterial cell through a
bacteriophage virus.
[Link] – It is a direct transfer of the genome. Here, the genetic material of a bacterial cell of a
specific strain is shifted from a donor or male into that of another bacterial cell recipient or female of a
different strain. The donor cells have a sex factor or F factor, and the recipient cells do not possess this
factor thereby, it is expressed as F- strain.
•Under unfavourable conditions,they produce spores.
CLASSIFICATION OF BACTERIA
ARCHAEBACTERIA
•These bacteria are special since they live in some of the most harsh habitats such as
 Extreme salty areas (halophiles)
 Hot springs (thermoacidophiles)
 Harshy areas (methanogens)
•Archaebacteria differ from other bacteria in having a different cell wall structure and this feature is
responsible for their survival in extreme conditions.
•No peptidoglycan is found in the cell wall of archaebacteria.
•It consists of Pseudomurein and S-layer which is made up of thermostable proteins.
•Cell membrane is lipo-protenaceous in nature consists of branched phospholipid.
• 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.
EUBACTERIA
•There are thousands of different eubacteria or ‘true bacteria’.
• They are characterised by the presence of a rigid cell wall, and if motile, a flagellum.
[Link]:
•These are also referred to as blue-green algae.
•They have chlorophyll a similar to green plants and are photosynthetic autotrophs.
•These are the 1st Oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria.
•These are the most successful organisms on Earth.
•These are blue-green in colour due to the presence of chlorophyll (green), phycocyanin (blue) and some
amount of phycoerythrin (red).
•Trichodesmium is a blue green algae which is red in colour due to the presence of excessive phycoerythrin
and hence responsible for red sea.
•These have no cilia or flagella.
•The cyanobacteria are unicellular, colonial or filamentous, freshwater/marine or terrestrial algae.
•The colonies are generally surrounded by gelatinous sheath.
•They often form blooms in polluted water bodies.
• Some of these organisms can fix atmospheric nitrogen in specialised cells called heterocysts.
e.g., Nostoc, Anabaena and Oscillatoria

2. CHEMOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA:
• They oxidise 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.
3. HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIA:
•Heterotrophic bacteria are most abundant in nature.
•The majority are important decomposers.
•Many of them have a significant impact on human affairs.
•They are helpful in making curd from milk, production of antibiotics, fixing nitrogen in legume roots, etc.
• Some are pathogens causing damage to human beings, crops, farm animals and pets.
•Cholera, typhoid, tetanus, citrus canker 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.
•They can survive without oxygen.
• Many mycoplasma are pathogenic in animals and plants.
They are pleomorphic in nature.
•They are called as the joker of the biological world.

KINGDOM PROTISTA
•All single-celled eukaryotes are placed under Protista
•The boundaries of this kingdom are not well defined.
•Members of Protista are primarily aquatic.
•Being eukaryotes, the protistan cell body contains a well defined nucleus and other membrane-bound
organelles.
•They may be autotrophic or heterotrophic.
• They reproduce asexually or sexually by a process involving cell fusion and zygote formation.
• Some have flagella or cilia.
•This kingdom forms a link with the others dealing with plants, animals and fungi.

Dinoflagellate
s

CRYSOPHYTES:
•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).
• Most of them are photosynthetic.
•Diatoms are the chief ‘producers’ in the oceans.
•In diatoms the 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.
•Thus, diatoms have left behind large amount 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.
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.

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

EUGLENOIDS:
•These are the connecting link between plants and animals.
•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
SLIME MOULDS:
•Slime moulds are saprophytic protists.
•The body moves along decaying twigs and leaves engulfing organic material.
•Under suitable conditions, they form an aggregation 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.

PROTOZOANS:
•All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predators or parasites.
•They are believed to be primitive relatives of animals.
• There are four major groups of protozoans.
a)Amoeboid protozoans
b)Flagellated protozoans
c)Ciliated protozoans
d)Sporozoans
a)Amoeboid protozoans: These organisms live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil.
•They move and capture their prey by putting out pseudopodia (false feet) as in [Link] type of
movement is called as amaeboid movemaent.
•Marine forms have silica shells on their surface.
• Some of them such as Entamoeba (Cause disentry) are parasites.
•Amoeba is free living and holozoic.
b) Flagellated protozoans: The members of this group are either free-living or parasitic.
•They have flagella for their movement.
•The parasitic forms cause diaseases such as sleeping sickness.
Example:Trypanosoma.
c) 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 (micro-organism) to be steered
into the gullet.
•Holozoic mode of nutrition.
Example:Paramoecium.
d) 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.
•They have no locomotary organ because they stey in/on host cell and absorbe food.

KINGDOM FUNGI
•The fungi constitute a unique kingdom of Eukaryotic, Multicellular, Achlorophyllous, Spore bearing,
heterotrophic organisms.
•We have seen fungi on a moist bread and rotten fruits.
•The common mushroom we eat and toadstools are also fungi.
•White spots seen on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus (Albugo).
•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
Some are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium.
HABITAT:
•Fungi show a great diversity in morphology and habitat.
•Fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on animals and plants.
•They prefer to grow in warm and humid places.
STRUCTURE:
•Fungi are filamentous in nature.
Exception-Yeast (Unicellular and non-mycellial fungi)
•Their bodies consist of long, slender thread-like structures called hyphae.
•The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.
•Hyphae is of 2 types
[Link] Hyphae- These hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm – these are
called coenocytic [Link] type of hyphae are found in lower classes of fungi. e.g. Phycomycetes
[Link] Hyphae- These hyphae have septae or cross walls in their [Link] type of hyphae are foung
in higher classes of fungi.e.g. Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. Pores present in between the septum. In
Basidiomycetes (except rust and smut) the septum composed of pore cap sorrounding a septal swelling and
septal pore called as dolipore.
• The cell walls of fungi are composed of chitin and polysaccharides.
NUTRITION:
•Most fungi are heterotrophic.
Heterotrophic
a)Saprophytic- absorb soluble organic matter from dead substrates
b)Parasitic- depend on living plants and animals
c)Symbiotic- in association with algae as lichens and with roots of higher plants as mycorrhiza.
Saprophytic
Obligate Saprophyte- Always shows Saprophytic mode of nutrition.
Facultative Saprophyte- Normally Parasitic but sometimes shows saprophytic mode of nutrition.
Parasitic
Obligate Parasite- Always shows Parasitic mode of nutrition.
Facultative Saprophyte- Normally Saprophytic but sometimes shows Parasitic mode of nutrition.
REPRODUCTION:
Reproduction in fungi can take place by
a)Vegetative method
b)Asexual method
c)Sexual method
VEGETATIVE REPRODUCTION:
Vegetative reproduction takes place by means of
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
FRAGMENTATION
•In this process the mycellium of the fungi separates into fragments and each component is known as
mycellial fragment grows into separate mycellium.

FISSION
•Sometimes yeast reproduce by binary fission in which one cell undergoes nuclear division and eventually the
cell splits into two daughter cells.

BUDDING
•In this process an outgrowth (bulge) is formed on the sides of unicellular fungi known as [Link] nucleus
divides mitotically and one of the nucleus migrates towards the bud and the bud eventually separates from the
parental cell (Mother cell).
•Sometimes a chain of buds is formed on a single yeast cell with out separation of the [Link] structure is
known as pseudomycellium.

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION:
Asexual reproduction is by [Link] asexual spores are of following types
a) Conidia c) Aplanospore-Non-motile
b) Oidia d) Zoospore-Motile
Difference between Zoospore and Aplanospore
 Zoospore Aplanospore
 These are flagellated and motile spores  These are non-flagellated and non-motile
spores which are dispersed by wind
 The sporangia bearing the zoospores are  The sporangia bearing the aplanospores
called as zoosporangia are called aplano sporangia.
 The spores are usually naked without a  Spores have a thin wall
cell wall

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION:
•Sexual reproduction in fungi is by different types of spores
[Link]- Oomycetes
[Link]- Zygomycetes
[Link]- Ascomycetes
[Link]- Basidiomycete
•The various spores are produced in distinct structures called fruiting bodies.
•The sexual cycle involves the following three steps:
(i)Plasmogamy- Fusion of protoplasms between two motile or non-motile gametes called plasmogamy.
(ii)Karyogamy- Fusion of two nuclei called karyogamy.
(iii)Meiosis- Meiosis in zygote resulting in 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).
•However, in other fungi (ascomycetes and basidiomycetes), an intervening dikaryotic stage (n + n, i.e., two
nuclei per cell) occurs; such a condition is called a dikaryon and the phase is called dikaryophase of fungus.
• Later, the parental nuclei fuse and the cells become diploid.
•The fruiting body is formed by Hyphal fusion (Plasmogamy).
•The fungi form fruiting bodies in which reduction division occurs, leading to formation of haploid spores.
•In Ascomycetes the fruiting body is called Ascocarp where as in Basidiomycetes it is known as
Basidiocarp.

Basidiomycetes Basidiocarp (Fruiting Body)

 Basidium Ascocarp (Fruiting Body)

Basidiospores Ascus

Exogeneous
Ascospore
Ascomycetes
Endogeneous

TYPES OF GAMETIC FUSION

•Fusion between gametes during sexual reproduction in Fungi can be of three types
a)Isogamy
b)Anisogamy
c)Oogamy
ISOGAMY
It is the fusion between gametes those are similar in morphology.

ANISOGAMY
It is the fusion between gametes those are dissimilar in morphology.

OOGAMY
It is the fusion between a smaller motile male gamete and a larger non-motile female gamete where Male
gamete is small,motile and active and female gamete is large,non-motile and inactive.

CLASSIFICATION:
•The morphology of the mycelium, mode of spore formation and fruiting bodies form are the basis for the
division of the kingdom fungi into four classes.
[Link] [Link]
[Link] [Link]
PHYCOMYCETES (ALGAL FUNGI)
HABITAT:
Members of phycomycetes are found in
•Aquatic habitats
•On decaying wood in moist and damp places
•As obligate parasites on plants
STRUCTURE:
• The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic.
REPRODUCTION:
[Link] REPRODUCTION
•Asexual reproduction takes place by
a)Zoospores (motile)
b)Aplanospores (non-motile)
•These spores are endogenously produced in sporangium.
2. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
•A zygospore (Zygomycetes)/ Oospore (Oomycetes) is formed by fusion of two gametes.
•These gametes may be
a)Isogamous -Similar in morphology
b)Anisogamous-Dissimilar in morphology
c)Oogamous-Male gamete is small,motile and active and female gamete is large,non-motile and inactive.
EXAMPLES:
 Mucor (Dung mould)-Mucormycosis
 Rhizopus (Bread mould/Black Mould)
 Albugo (Mustard Parasite)-White rust on mustard
 Phytophthora infestans-Late blight of Potato
ASCOMYCETES (SAC FUNGI)
•They are commonly known as sac-fungi.
HABITAT:
•They are saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous (growing on dung).
Eg-Pilobolus
STRUCTURE:
•The ascomycetes are mostly multicellular, e.g., Penicillium, or rarely unicellular, e.g., yeast
(Saccharomyces).
•Mycelium is branched and septate.
REPRODUCTION:
[Link] REPRODUCTION
•The asexual spores are conidia produced exogenously on the special mycelium called conidiophores.
•Conidia on germination produce mycelium.
2. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
•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 niger-Production of Citric acid
Production of Enzymes such as Amylase, Pectinase, Protease
Aspergillus flavus-Production of Aflatoxins
Claviceps (Ergot fungi)-Ergot of rye
Neurospora (Pink mould)-Used in experimental genetics as it can be grown easily in [Link]
called Drosophila of plant kingdom.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
•Neurospora is used extensively in biochemical and genetic work.
•Many members like morels and truffles are edible and are considered delicacies.
BASIDIOMYCETES (CLUB FUNGI)
•Commonly known forms of basidiomycetes are mushrooms, bracket fungi or puffballs.
HABITAT:
•They grow in soil, on logs and tree stumps and in living plant bodies as parasites, e.g., rusts and smuts.
STRUCTURE:
•The mycelium is branched and septate.
REPRODUCTION:
1. ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
The asexual spores are generally not found, but vegetative reproduction by fragmentation is common.
2. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
•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 (pl.: basidia).
•The basidia are arranged in fruiting bodies called basidiocarps.
EXAMPLES:
Agaricus (mushroom)-Edible fungi
Ustilago (smut fungi)-Smut disease
Puccinia (rust fungi)-Rust disease in wheat
Amanita muscaria- Poisonous [Link] hallucination.
Polypore (Bracket fungi)-Used to make leather like material
Some are used in medecines
Lycoperdon (Puffball)-Edible
DEUTEROMYCETES (IMPERFECT FUNGI)
•Commonly known as imperfect fungi because only the asexual or vegetative phases of these fungi are
known.
STRUTURE
•The mycelium is septate and branched.
REPRODUCTION
•The deuteromycetes reproduce only by asexual spores known as conidia.
•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 another (and placed under another class).
•Later when the linkages were established, the fungi were correctly identified and moved out of
deuteromycetes.
Once perfect (sexual) stages of members of dueteromycetes were discovered they were often moved to
ascomycetes and basidiomycetes.
NUTRITION
•Some members are saprophytes or parasites while a large number of them are decomposers of litter and help
in mineral cycling.
EXAMPLES
Alternaria
Colletotrichum
Trichoderma
KINGDOM PLANTAE
•Kingdom Plantae includes all eukaryotic chlorophyll-containing organisms commonly called plants.
• A few members are partially heterotrophic such as the insectivorous plants or parasites. Bladderwort
and Venus fly trap are examples of insectivorous plants and Cuscuta is a parasite.
•The plant cells have an eukaryotic structure with prominent chloroplasts and cell wall mainly made of
cellulose.
•Plantae includes algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms.
•Life cycle of plants has two distinct phases – the diploid sporophytic and the haploid gametophytic – that
alternate with each other.
• The lengths of the haploid and diploid phases, and whether these phases are free– living or dependent on
others, vary among different groups in plants. This phenomenon is called alternation of generation.
KINGDOM ANIMALIA
•This kingdom is characterised by heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms that are multicellular and 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.
•Their mode of nutrition is holozoic – by ingestion of food.
•They follow a definite growth pattern and grow into adults that have a definite shape and size.
•Higher forms show elaborate 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
•In the five kingdom classification of Whittaker there is no mention of lichens and some acellular organisms
like viruses, viroids and prions.
•Viruses did not find a place in classification since they are not considered truly ‘living’.
•We understand living as those organisms that have a cell structure. The viruses are non-cellular organisms
that are characterised 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.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRUSES
•Viruses are acellular organisms, i.e, they do not possess a cellular structure.
•They are non-living (inert) outside the living organism (host) but living inside the living organism.
•They are obligate intracellular parasites which are smaller in size than bacteria as they can easily pass
through bacterial filters.
•They can replicate themselves only inside the living organism (host) eventually controlling the host
machinery and killing host cells.
They cause diseases in their specific host.
VIRUSES: LIVING OR NON-LIVING?
Living Characteristics of Viruses
•Like living organisms viruses have genetic material (DNA or RNA)
•Viruses can reproduce in living organisms.
•They are causative agents of infectious diseases in living organisms.
•They have a protein coat surrounding their genetic material.
•They can undergo rapid mutation.
Non-living Characteristics of Viruses
•Viruses cannot sustain outside the host and are hence called obligate intracellular parasites.
•They lack an enzyme system.
•They have an acellular structure.
Viruses can also be easily crystallised.
DISCOVERY OF VIRUSES
•The word ‘virus’ means poisonous fluid or venom.
•Various scientists have contributed to the discovery of viruses as described below:
[Link] Ivanowsky (1892) recognised certain microbes as causal organism of the mosaic disease of
tobacco. These were found to be smaller than bacteria because they passed through bacteria-proof filters.
2. M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the infected plants of tobacco could cause
infection in healthy plants and named the new pathogen “virus” and called the fluid as Contagium vivum
fluidum (infectious living fluid).
3. W.M. Stanley (1935) showed that viruses could be crystallised and crystals consist largely of proteins.
They are inert outside their specific host cell. Viruses are obligate parasites.
STRUCTURE OF VIRUS
•Viruses have an outer protein coat called capsid inside which the genetic material is present.
•Thus, a virus is called a nucleoprotein.
•They do not have enzyme machinery.
PARTS OF VIRUS
1. CAPSID
•The small subunits constituting the capsid are called capsomeres.
•Arrangement of capsomeres may vary from one virus to another such as helical, geometric or polyhedral.
•The primary function of capsid is to protect the genetic material of viruses.
2. ENVELOPE
•When a viral particle buds off from the host cell, it gets surrounded by the plasma membrane of the host cell,
called envelope.
•Thus, it is an outer layer present on some viruses.
•The envelope helps in survival of the viruses and also aids in infecting other host cells. Examples of
enveloped viruses are Hepatitis B virus, COVID-19, Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
3. GENETIC MATERIAL
•In addition to proteins, viruses also contain genetic material, that could be either single stranded or double
stranded DNA or RNA.
•No virus contains both RNA and DNA
•It usually undergoes rapid mutations.
•The genetic material of a virus is usually infectious and is injected within the host cell.
•Their genetic material can replicate only inside the host by using host replication machinery.
•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 DNA
viruses.
TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS
•It is a cylindrical shaped virus containing a capsid made up of 130 helically arranged capsomeres.
•Genetic material is ssRNA.
•It causes the mosaic disease in tobacco plants.

BACTERIOPHAGE
•These viruses infect bacteria.
•Bacteriophages have a tadpole-like shape with a hexagonal head and a tail.
•The head has a protein coat in which double stranded DNA is tightly packed.
•The cylindrical tail is made entirely of proteins and has a core tube filled with lysozyme which helps in
penetration of the phage DNA into the bacterial host.
•A narrow neck lies between the head and the tail.
•The core tube is covered by a contractile sheath and is attached to the head with the help of a collar.
•At the base, the tail has an end plate which is hexagonal in shape and has tail fibres emerging from each
corner of the hexagon.
•The end plate and tail fibres help in attachment of the bacteriophage to the host cell.

LIFE CYCLE OF VIRUS

Viruses cannot replicate on their own, but rather depend on their host cell's protein synthesis pathways to
reproduce.
The stages in the life cycle of a virus are mentioned below:
1) Attachment of virus to the host
2) Penetration or Entry of genetic material
 3) Genome Replication and Gene Expression or Biosynthesis
4) Assembly Or maturation
5) Release
1. LYTIC LIFE-CYCLE
The lytic cycle is named as such because it is named after the process of lysis, i.e., a process in which a virus
infects a cell, it replicates, and bursts inside the cell membrane. Viral cells release viral DNA inside the host
genome and then replicate and reproduce inside it, further infecting more cells.
2. LYSOGENIC LIFE-CYCLE
Lysogeny means the integration of viral nucleic material within a host’s [Link] replicates with the host
genome and reproduce inside and release without harming the host cell.
DISEASES CAUSED BY VIRUSES
ANIMAL DISEASES
Mumps
Small pox
Herpes
Influenza
AIDS
SYMPTOMS OF TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE IN TOBACCO PLANTS
mosaic formation
leaf rolling and curling
yellowing
vein clearing
dwarfing
stunted growth
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, 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.