2.

Systematics of Living Organisms

Can you recall? Natural : It is the classification which is based

on objectively significant rather than being
What is five kingdom system of selected for convenience like artificial system
classification? of classification e.g. Bentham and Hooker's
system of classification.
There is a great diversity of organisms
around us. Since time immemorial, we Phylogenetic : It is the classification based on
humans have been exploiting this wealth for common evolutionary descent. e.g. Engler and
our own benefit. During this process man Prantl classification.
tried to differentiate between and identify In the system of classification the terms
the organisms. This evolved into a branch of like ‘taxa’ and ‘categories’ are often used. Each
biology known as classification that has led category is referred as a unit of classification.
eventually to systematics. The methods of In fact, it represents a rank and is commonly
classification dates back to ancient time when termed as taxon.
Indian, Greek and Roman philosophers have
contributed their might to systematise science. Archaea
2.1 Systematics : Bacteria Eukarya
‘‘Systematics is the study of kinds and
diversity of organisms and their comparative
and evolutionary relationship’’(G. Simpson,
1961). Common ancestor
Taxonomy : Fig 2.1 Phylogenetic descent
Taxonomy means classification
following certain rules or principles. Word
Taxonomy comes from two Greek words, 2.3 Three domains of life :
taxis – meaning arrangement and nomous It is believed that the life originated on
meaning law or rule. The term taxonomy was earth in its very simple form. Constant struggle
first introduced by A. P. de Candolle (Swiss of the early living beings gave rise to more and
Botanist) [1778-1841]. more perfect forms of life. This struggle and
progress is evolution which led to formation of
2.2 Classification : diverse life forms. Carl Woese in 1990 proposed
It is the arrangement of organisms three domains of life to classify life forms. They
or groups of organisms in distinct categories are Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Domain is
in accordance with a particular and well an unit larger than Kingdom in the system of
established plan. This classification is based classification.
on similarities and dissimilarities among the Bacteria and Archaea both have
organisms. prokaryotic cells where as Eukarya have
Artificial : eukaryotic cell. All the three domains have
It is the classification that is based on very unique ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Archaea
few easily observable and non-evolutionary are known for their survival in very extreme
features such as habit, colour, etc.; often conditions like high temperature, salinity,
irrespective of their affinity (relationship) acidic conditions, etc. Bacteria, though are
with other organisms. e.g. Linnaeus system of prokaryotes differ from Archaea in structure of
classification. cell wall.

6
2.4 Chemotaxonomy : It helps to study newly identified
It is method of biological classification species as well as understanding ecological
based on similarities and differences in and evolutionary relationships between living
structure of certain compounds present among beings. The process of DNA barcoding includes
the organisms being classified. In short, it is the two basic steps: (a) collecting DNA barcode
classification based on chemical constituents data of known species and (b) matching the
of organisms. e.g. Archaea cell wall is without barcode sequence of the unknown sample
peptidoglycan and that of Prokarya is with against the barcode library for identification.
peptidoglycan. Among Eukarya, fungi have DNA barcoding has many applications. A
chitinous cell wall while plants have cellulosic few to mention are, protection of endangered
cell wall. species, preservation of natural resources,
pest control in agriculture, identifying disease
2.5 Numerical taxonomy :
vectors, authentication of natural health
The system is based on quantification
products and identification of medicinal plants.
of characters and develops an algorithm for
classification. The basic aim of this taxonomy
was to create a taxonomy using numeric Can you tell?
algorithms like cluster analysis rather than
using subjective evaluation of their properties. 1. Which characters of organisms are visible
This system was first proposed by Sokel and characters?
Sneath in 1963. 2. Name the recent approaches in taxonomy.
3. What is DNA barcoding?
2.6 Cladogram : 4. What is evolution?
It is a typical branching pattern. As 5. Enlist uses of taxonomy.
shown on previous page, a diagram of three
domains of life is a cladogram. It represents 2.9 Taxonomic Categories :
a hypothetical relationship denoting a Classification is not a single step
comparison of organisms and their common process but involves hierarchy of steps in which
ancestors. each step represents a rank or category. Since
2.7 Phylogeny : the category is a part of overall taxonomic
It is evolutionary relationship of arrangement it is called taxonomic category
organism. It is an important tool in classification and all categories together constitute the
as it takes into account not merely the taxonomic hierarchy. Kingdom, division, class,
morphological status but also the relationship order, family, genus, species are the categories
of one group of organism with other groups in hirarchial sequence. These are compulsory
of life. The system helps to understand the categories. Besides, there are some facultative
evolution and also focuses on the similarities categories like sub-order, sub-family, etc. to be
of their metabolic functioning. Woese’s three used as per need.
domain concept as well as Whittakar’s five 2.10 Taxonomic Hierarchy :
kingdom system are very good examples of
Taxon : A taxon is a taxonomic group
phylogenetic relationship.
of any rank in the system of classification
2.8 DNA barcoding : (H.J. Lam 1948) e.g. in plant kingdom each
DNA barcoding, is a new method for one of the following such as Angiospermae,
the identification of any species based on its Dicotyledonae, Polypetalae, Malvaceae
DNA sequence from a tiny tissue sample of the represents a taxonomic group i.e. a taxon.
organism under study.

7
 Category Taxon Taxon • Cohort / Order : It is taxonomic rank
used in the classification of organisms and
Kingdom Plantae Animalia
recognised by nomenclature codes. An order
Division/Phylum Angiospermae Chordata
is a group of closely related families showing
Class Dicotyledonae Reptilia
definite affinities. Order thus is a step above
Sub-class Polypetalae Diapsida
family in taxonomic hierarchy. Members
Series Thalamiflorae -
belonging to same order but different families
Order Malvales Squamata may show very few dissimilarities. e.g. family
Family Malvaceae Elapidae - Papavaraceae, Brassicaceae, Capparidaceae,
Genus Hibiscus Naja etc with parietal plancentation are grouped
Species rosa-sinensis naja in order Parietales. Families of dogs and cats
Table 2.2 Classification of China-rose and though are different, they belong to same order
Cobra Carnivora.
2.11 Units of Classification : • Class : The class is the distinct
• Species : Species is the principle taxonomic rank of biological classification
natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus having its own distinctive name. A group of
and denoted by latin binomial (considered as higher taxonomic rank than order. Class is the
the basic) unit of classification. It is a group assemblage of closely allied orders. Orders
of organisms that can interbreed under natural Carnivora and order Primates belong to class
condition to produce fertile offspring. It was Mammalia. Thus monkeys, gorillas, gibbons
thought to be an indivisible, stable and static (Primates) and dogs, cats, tigers (Carnivora)
unit. However in the modern taxonomy, sub- belong to same class.
division of species such as sub-species, varities • Division / Phylom : The division is
and populations are seen and given more a category composed of related classes e.g.
importance. division. Angiospermae includes two classes
• Genus : Genus is a taxonomic rank - Dicotyledonae and Monocotyledonae (In
or category larger than species used in the animal classification division is a sub-unit of
biological classification of living and fossil Category / Phylum).
organisms. Genus is a group of species bearing • Sub-kingdom : Different divisions
close resemblance to one another in their having some similarities form sub-kingdom.
morphological characters but they do not e.g. The divisions Angiospermae and
interbreed. e.g. Tiger, Leopard, Lion all three Gymnospermae will the sub-kingdom
belong to same genus Panthera. They have Phanerogams or Spermatophyta.
common characters yet are different from • Kingdom : It is the highest taxonomic
each other because their genus is same but category composed of different sub-
species are different. Another example is genus kingdoms. e.g. sub-kingdom Phanerogams
Solanum. Brinjal and potato both belong to this and Cryptogams form the Plant kingdom or
genus. Plantae which includes all the plants while all
• Family : It is one of the major animals are included in kindom Animalia.
hierarchial taxonomic rank. A family represents The taxonomic categories we have
a group of closely related genera. e.g. genera considered so far are broad categories.
like Hibiscus, Gossypium, Sida, Bombax are Scientists have added sub-categories to these
included in same family Malvaceae. Cat also in order to place organisms in more scientific
belongs to family of leopards, tigers and lions, manner. You will observe that as we go higher
family Felidae but dog belongs to different in taxonomical ladder, number of common
family Canidae. characters go on decreasing.

8
 If we are comparing two organisms Before 2011, the code which was set up
that are related to each other only at division or to confirm the scientific names was ICBN
phylum level, their classification may become means International Code of Botanical
difficult. Nomenclature. Recently XIX International
Botanical Congress (IBC) was held in
Can you tell? Shenzhen, China in July 2017. This code
is also called "Shenzhen code", so the old
1. Why horse and ass are considered to be
code ICBN has been changed to ICNAFP
two different species or animals?
means "International Code of Nomenclature
2. Make a flow chart showing taxonomic
for Algae, Fungi and Plants". This code was
hierarchy.
published on 26th June 2018.
2.12 Nomenclature : According to this system the scientific
Any object that becomes known to name of sunflower is Helianthus annuus. In
human intelligence must possess a name. It the above Helianthus indicates name of the
may not be possible or convenient to describe it genus (generic name) and second word annuus
in order to communicate ideas about it. The art denotes name of the species.
of naming the objects is in fact, a science called The Binomial Nomenclature system follows
nomenclature. All living organisms are known certain rules.
by a particular name. y Name of organism is composed of two
1. Vernacular / Local names / Common Latin / Greek words.
names: Widely distributed organisms have y Generic epithet is a simple noun. It should
a large number of common names. Pansy come first and begin with capital letter.
(Viola tricolor L.) grown in most European y Specific epithet is the descriptive adjective
and American gardens has about 50 common which should come later and begin with
English names. In a multilingual country like small letter.
India, almost all useful plants have local names y Scientific epithet must be underlined
which differ from language to language and separately if hand written and must be
even from dialect to dialect. As in Ayurveda, printed in italics.
mango (Mangifera indica L.) is known by over y The generic and specific epithet should not
50 different names, all in the Sanskrit language. have less than three letters and more than
Hence the common names obviously have thirteen letters.
limited usage and for universal applications, a y Usually the name of the author who names
unique name for a particular individual is very a plant or animal is also written in full or
much essential. abbreviated form after scientific name. e.g.
2. Scientific Names : To overcome the Mangifera indica L. Where L stands for
difficulties raised by common names, scientists Linnaeus.
have given scientific names to all the known
organisms. These are systematic, thus provide Internet my friend

means for international communication. 1. Collect the information about most
Initially the polynomial system was used recent system of classification of living
but Carl Linnaeus used binomial system of organisms and Kingdom System of
nomenclature. He introduced this system in his Classification. e.g. Search for APG
book ‘‘Species Plantarum’’ published in 1753. system of classification for Plants.
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature 2. Collect the information about
(ICBN) has been set up to confirm the scientific classification systems for all types of
names. organisms.

9
 Membrane bound organelles e.g.
Know the scientists mitochondria, chloroplast, endoplasmic
reticulum are absent. Ribosomes are smaller in
Carl Linnaeus classified living
size (70S) than in eukaryotic cells. The mode of
organisms in two kingdoms based on mode
reproduction in monera is asexual or with the
of nutrition, whether they are migratory,
help of binary fission or budding. Very rarely,
sedentary, etc. But this broad classification
sexual reproduction is by conjugation method.
as Kingdom Plantae and Kingdom Animalia
Morphologicaly, bacteria are
was found inadequate. It could not classify
categorised into four groups, the spherical-
the organisms that show characters of both the
Coccus, the rod-shaped bacillus, the comma or
Kingdoms for ex. Bacteria, Fungi, Euglena
kidney shaped- vibrio and the spiral- spirillum.
etc. Hence to avoid confusion scientist R.H.
On the basis of evolution, bacteria can
Whittaker (1969) proposed Five Kingdom
be classified as Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.
system of classification. This system shows
the Phylogenetic relationship between the
organisms. The five kingdoms are.
Coccus Coccobacillus Vibrio Bacillus

1. Kingdom Monera
Spirillum Spirochete
2. Kingdom Protista
3. Kingdom Plantae Fig. 2.3 Different shapes of bacterial cells

4. Kingdom Fungi a. Archebacteria :

These are differentiated from other
5. Kingdom Animalia
R. H. Whittaker bacteria on the basis of their different cellular
features. These bacteria are mostly found
in the extreme environments; hence termed
extremophiles. They are found in a variety
2.13 Salient features of Five Kingdoms : of places from volcanic craters to salty lakes
1. Kingdom Monera : and hot springs. Their ability to withstand such
hostile environment speaks of their capacity
It contains unicellular organisms with
to survive in very severe conditions. Bacteria
prokaryotic cellular organization. Monera
that can withstand high salinities are called
includes unicellular prokaryotic organisms.
halophiles while those that withstand extreme
These are omnipresent. They are found in all
temperature are known as thermophiles. A
types of environment which are not generally
very common example is of methanogenic
inhabited by other living beings. Few are
bacteria found in gut of ruminants (cows and
photoautotrophs or chemoautotrophs; but
buffaloes). These bacteria help in production of
majority are heterotrophic in nature. These
methane in biogas plants.
organisms do not have well defined nucleus.
b. Eubacteria :
DNA exists as a simple double stranded
These are commonly referred as true
circular single chromosome called as nucleoid.
bacteria. They have cell wall of peptidoglycan.
Smaller circular molecules of DNA as extra-
They are found as autotrophs and heterotrophs.
chromosomal genetic elements called plasmids
The autotrophs can be photosynthetic like
are often present. Cell wall is made up of
Chlorobium (Green sulphur bacteria) and
peptidoglycan (also called murein) which is a
Chromatium or chemosynthetic like sulphur
polymer of sugars and amino acids.
bacteria.

10
 These are mostly multicellular 2. Kingdom Protista :
filamentous forms living in fresh water. The This group includes all the unicellular
body is covered by mucilagenous sheath. but eukaryotic organisms. These organisms
The genetic material is typical prokaryotic. show link with all eukaryotic Kingdoms like
Chl-a, Chl-b, carotenes and xanthothylls are Plantae, Fungi and Animalia.
the photosynthetic pigments. Filaments show a. Plant-like protists :
heterocyst which helps in nitrogen fixation. They are also termed Chrysophytes.
Heterotrophs are the most abundant. They are commonly termed phyto-planktons.
Most of them are decomposers and known They are microscopic and mostly photosynthetic
for breaking down large molecules in simple and are major producers in oceans. Most of
molecules or minerals. They can be anaerobes them are referred to as diatoms as the have
helping in curdling of milk (Lactobacilli), body wall made up of two soap-box like fitting
fixation of nitrogen (Azotobacter), antibiotic silica covers. “Diatomaceous earth" is nothing
production (Streptomyces), composting and but these shells left behind for so many years.
degrading oil. But the story doesn’t end here, Diatomaceous earth is granular hence finds use
some of them are pathogens i.e. causing disease in polishing and filtration.
(typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis, tetanus).

Heterocyst

Mucilagenous
sheath

Fig. 2.5 Diatoms

Fig. 2.4 Cynaobacterium (Nostoc) b. Animal-like Protists :- They are also termed
protozoans. They lack cell wall. They are
heterotrophs. They are believed to be primitive
Can you tell?
animal forms. Amoeboid protozoans have
1. What are salient features of Monera? pseudopodia as locomotory organs. Amoeba is
2. What will be the shape of a bacillus and free living form but Entamoeba is endoparasite
coccus type of bacteria? and causes amoebic dysentery. Flagellated
3. Write a note on useful and harmful protozoans have flagella as locomotory
bacteria. organ. Trypanosoma is a common flagellated
pathogen which causes sleeping sickness.
Mycoplasma : Paramoecium is a cilliate protozoan
These are smallest of the living forms. having cilia for locomotion. In Paramoecium,
They do not have cell wall. Many forms are gullet (a cavity) opens on the cell surface.
pathogenic. They are found resistant to Plasmodium is a sporozoan protozoa. It causes
common antibiotics due to absence of cell wall. malaria. It forms spores in one of its life stage.

11
 Contractile Euglenoids :- They lack cell wall but have a
Micronucleus vacuole tough covering of proteinaceous pellicle.
Macronucleus
They possess two flagella, one short
Food
and other long. They behave as heterotrophs in
Vacuoles
absence of light but possess pigments, similar
Cilia to that of higher plants, for photosynthesis.
Cytopyge
Gullet
Lysosomes Oral Groove Nucleus Nucleolus
Trichocyst
Mitochondria
Fig. 2.6 Paramoecium Chloroplasts
Flagellum
Stored
Dinoflagellates :- These are aquatic (mostly carbohydrate
marine) and photosynthetic. The cell wall Endoplasmic
is made up of cellulosic stiff plates. They reticulum
Photoreceptor Golgi apparatus
possess a pair of flagella. They have a wide
Contractile vacuole
range photosynthetic pigments, which can be
yellow, green, brown, blue and red. Gonyaulax
is dinoflagellate that is responsible for famous Fig. 2.8 Euglena
‘red tide’. It makes even sea appear red.
3. Kingdom Plantae:
Apical horn The kingdom is dominated by
Flagellar pore (s) autotrophs. It also includes some semi-
Epitheca autotrophic members, the insectivorous plants
like Venus fly trap, pitcher plant, bladderwort,
Cingulum as well as heterotrophic parasitic members
like Cuscuta. Members of this kingdom
Hypotheca Flagella Plates are multicellular, having eukaryotic cells
containing chlorophyll. Cells have cell wall
Sulcus mostly made up of cellulose. Plants exhibit
Ventral view
alternation of generation i.e., life cycle has two
distinct phases. Kingdom Plantae is divided into
two major groups Cryptogamae / Cryptogams
and Phanerogamae / Phanerogams.
Anatomical horns We will study this kingdom in detail in
Dorsal view next chapter.
Fig. 2.7 Gonyaulax 4. Kingdom Fungi : These are eukaryotic
heterotrophs showing extracellular digestion.
c. Fungi like protists :- They are commonly They are found in warm and humid places. They
from the group Myxomycetes. These are have simple body which may be unicellular or
saprophytic organisms found on decaying made up of long thread like structures called
leaves. Their cells aggregate to form a large hyphae. Large fungi such as mushrooms have
cell mass called plasmodium (not a malaria a compact mass of cells. Unicellular organisms
parasite). The spores produced by plasmodium have a protoplast with many nuclei. e.g.
are very tough and survive even very harsh Rhizopus, Saccharomyces (Yeast-unicellular
conditions. fungus).

12
 Filamentous fungi consist of a body b. Ascomycetes :
called mycellium in which hyphae are present. These are called as sac-fungi. These
The hyphae may be with septa or without fungi are mostly multicellular. Rarely
septa. They may be uni or multinucleate. The unicellular varieties include yeast. The hyphae
non-septate multinucleate hyphae are called are branched and septate. Sac fungi can be
coenocytic hyphae. The cell wall in fungi is decomposers, parasites or coprophilous (grow
composed of chitin, a polysaccharide or fungal on dung). Morels and truffles are varieties
cellulose. The fungi exhibit hetrotrophic mode of sac fungi that are consumed as delicacies.
of nutrition. Mostly they are saprophytic, some Neurospora is useful in genetic and biochemical
are parasitic or predators. They reproduce assays.
sexually as well as asexually. Asexual Ex. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Claviceps,
reproduction takes place by fragmentation, Neurospora, Saccharomyces.
fission and budding. Some fungi are symbiotic;
either live with algae as lichens or as mycorrhiza
in association with roots of higher plants.
They are useful as well as harmful.
Mushrooms are consumed as food, yeast is
used in bakery and breweries. Penicillium, a
fungus, is well known for antibiotic production.
Harmful fungi cause diseases in plants and
animals, e.g. Puccinia.
The fungi are further classified on the
basis of their structure, mode of spore formation
Fig. 2.10 Aspergillus
and fruiting bodies as follows-
a. Phycomycetes : c. Basidiomycetes :
These are commonly called algal fungi. These are commonly called club fungi.
Mycelium is made up of aseptate coenocytic They have branched, septate hyphae. e.g.
hyphae. They commonly grow in moist and Agaricus (mushrooms), Ganoderma (bracket
damp habitats, on decaying organic matter as fungi), Ustilago (smuts), Puccinia (rusts), etc.
well as in aquatic habitats or as parasites on
plants.
e.g. Mucor, Rhizopus (bread mould),
Albugo (parasitic fungus on mustard).

Sporangium

Sporangiophore

Hypha

Fig. 2.11 Mushroom

d. Deuteromycetes :
These are called imperfect fungi, which
Fig. 2.9 Mucor
are known to reproduce only asexually.
e.g. Alternaria, Colletotrichum.

13
 5. Kingdom Animalia : Members of this
kingdom are heterotrophs; adapted to holozoic
nutrition. Most of them have capacity of
locomotion. They are multicellular eukaryotes
where cells lack chlorophyll as well as cell
wall. Growth is determinate (follow definite
pattern).
In chapter four, we will study
about Kingdom- Animalia and its further
Fig. 2.12 Alternaria
classification.
Do you know ?
Can you tell?
Lichens : Lichen is co-existence of algae and
fungi for mutual benefit. Algal member, the 1. Differentiate between Plantae and
phycobiont as it is called, mostly belongs to Animalia.
cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) or green 2. How are fungi different from plants?
algae. Fungal member is called mycobiont. 3. Have you seen any diseased plant in your
They are excellent example of symbiosis. The farm?
algal component of lichens provides food to
fungal part while fungus provides shelter to Do you know ?
alga and also absorbed water and minerals
New variety of Banana seedlings
to alga. The association is intense and it is
produced by tissue culture technique like
difficult to identify them as separate living
‘Shrimanti’, Basarai, G-9 are virus free
beings.
varieties.
Though found in extreme environments
like snow clad poles, lichens are sensitive Viruses, Viroids are groups of acellular
to pollution. They are not found in polluted organisms that are not included in Whitaker’s
regions, hence are considered as pollution Five Kingdom classification.
indicators. Lichens also play important 2.14 Acellular organisms :
role in soil formation by using specific acid a. Viruses : Viruses were named so by Louis
productions. Pasteur; considering the meaning, Venom or
poison. These obligate parasites were given
the name 'virus' by M. J. Beijernek, after
Lichen - observation that they were able to migrate in
e.g. Parmelia an agar gel. Thus, being and infectious soluble
agent, he called the filtrate as 'contagium
vivum fluidum'. It was scientist Stanley who
demonstrated that viruses are inert outside
the host cell and can be crystallised. They are
Can you tell? made up of proteins.
1. Write a note on economic importance of Viruses lack their own cell machinery.
fungi. They have protein coat (capsid) around nucleic
2. Why are fungi considered as heterotrophic acid strand, thus considered to be acellular
organisms? organisms. Viruses are inactive outside a host
3. What are coenocytic hyphae? cell; but once they enter their specific host cell,
4. Classify fungi into their types. they take charge of cellular machinery of host

14
cell and duplicate themselves. Viruses thus can
be called infectious nucleoprotein particles.
Head
Types of viruses :
Collar Core
As per genetic material, viruses are
Sheath
grouped as DNA or RNA viruses.

Do you know ? Basal plate

Viruses have either DNA or RNA as Tail fibers
their genetic material but never DNA as well
as RNA.

Fig. 2.14 Bacteriophage

Hollow core b. Viroids : Potato spindle tuber disease was

o
Radius 40 A found to be caused by single stranded RNA
RNA
Capsomeres which lacks protein coat. T. O. Diener in 1971
reported that this is low molecular weight
RNA and smaller in size than viruses. These
RNA
infectious RNA strands are called viroids.

o Can you tell?

Pitch 23 A

Fig. 2.13 Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) 1. Why are viruses called infectious
nucleoproteins?
2. Describe genetic material in plant
Protein coat called capsid is made up of
and animal viruses as well as in
smaller units, the capsomeres. Capsomeres are
bacteriophages.
arranged in polyhedral or helical forms. Capsid
3. Differentiate between viruses and viroids.
protects genetic material.
The genetic material in viruses is either
single-stranded RNA or single or double- Internet my friend
stranded RNA or double-stranded DNA.
Viruses that infect bacterial cells are called Prions : In modern medicine, certain
bacteriophages which normally have double- infectious neurological diseases were found
stranded DNA. to be transmitted by abnormally folded
Viruses cause disorders like leaf curling, proteins. These proteins are called prions.
yellowing, mosaic formation etc. in plants. You The word prion comes from ‘proteinaceous
have heard of foot and mouth disease in animals infectious particle’. e.g. mad cow disease in
or swine flu which are viral diseases. Small cattle, Jacob's disease in human. Find more
pox, mumps, herpes to common cold, viruses information about prions.
are the causative agents of many diseases in
humans. The list includes AIDS too!

15
 Observe and Discuss Complete the following table on the basis of previous
knowledge.
Characters Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
Cell type Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic
Cell wall Present in some Present ...............
-------- organisms ............... (cellulose)
Nuclear Absent Present Present ................ Present
membrane
Body Unicellular ................. Multicellular/ Tissue /organ Tissue/
organization loose tissue organ
/system
Mode of Autotrophic Autotrophic
nutrition ............. Photosynthetic ................... (Photosynthetic) --------
Heterotrophic
Ecological Decomposers .................... Decomposers ................. Consumers
role
Do Yourself
Complete the following table through collecting information about sunflower,
tiger with characteristic features.
Category Taxon Characteristics
Kingdom
Sunflower

Category Taxon Characteristics

Kingdom
Tiger

16
 Exercise

1. Choose correct option 5. Draw neat labelled diagrams

A. Which of the following shows single A. Paramoecium
stranded RNA and lacks protein coat? B. Euglena
a. Bacteriophage b. Plant virus C. TMV
c. Viroid d. Animal virus 6. Complete chart and explain in your word
B. Causative agent of red tide is
_____________.
a. Dinoflagellate b. Euglenoid
c. Chrysophyte d. Lichen Types of Viruses Animals
C. Select odd one out for Heterotrophic
bacteria.
a. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
b. Lactobacilli
c. Methanogens 7. Identify the following diagrams, label
d. Cyanobacteria them and write detail information in
D. Paramoecium : Ciliated Protist your words
Plasmodium : ____________
a. Amoeboid protozoan b. Ciliophora
c. Flagellate protozoan d. Sporozoan
2. Answer the following
A. What are the salient features of monera?
B. What will be the shape of bacillus and
coccus type of bacteria?
C. Why is binomial nomenclature
important? A

3. Write short notes

A. Useful and harmful bacteria.
B. Five Kingdom system
C. Useful Fungi
4. Complete tree diagram in detail

Fungi

Protista

17
 8. The scientific name of sunflower is given
below. Identify the correctly written
name.
A. Helianthus annuus L.
B. Helianthus Annuus l.
9. Match the following.
Kingdom Example
i. Monera a. Riccia
ii. Protista b. Cyanobacteria
C iii. Plantae c. Rhizopus
iv. Fungi d. Diatoms
10. Complete the following

A. Plant-like Protista -

B. - Entamoeba

Practical / Project :
1. Make a group of students. Observe
D living organisms in your school/college
campus and try to write their characters
with respect to habit, habitat, mode
of nutrition, growth- determinate or
indeterminate, type of reproduction
- vegetative reproduction - asexual
reproduction - Sexual reproduction.
With the help of similarity and
dissimilarity, try to classify organisms
into different categories. Similar work
should implement for animal group.
2. Find out types of lichens and its economic
importance.
E

18