General Botany 1

(040407101)
Part 1: Systematic Botany
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Saad Abdel-Kareem
Botany and Microbiology Department

Dr. Mohamed Saad Abdel-Kareem 1

 Systematic Botany

• Living organisms present a wide range of diversity in their forms and functions.
However, all organisms are related to each other genetically, some closely,
others distantly.
• A variety of environmental factors play a vital role in influencing the structure
and behavior of living organisms.
• Systematic is the science of description, identification, naming, and
classification of objects or organisms according to certain principles. Such a
definition has internationally been drawn up to coincide with the meaning of
the term taxonomy. In fact, the two terms are nowadays commonly used
synonymously.
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Importance of Biological Classification
• Plant taxonomy is the center of a web of inter-related areas of botany. Taxonomists use
information about morphology, structure, chemical composition, physiology, ecology,
genetics, evolution, geographical distribution, and many other forms of data to establish the
criteria for identifying and to arrange similar organisms into groups.
• Taxonomy implies the study of taxa (singular, taxon). A taxon is a general term to describe
any unit of classification.
• Humans have several reasons for classifying organisms. Man has always shown a keen
interest in plants since they are the source of food, fuel, medication and shelter to him.
• Medicinal plants, for instance, had to be named and categorized.
• One of the other most obvious reasons for classification is that man has to search for accurate
and rapid tools for distinguishing pathogenic microorganisms from beneficial ones.
• Moreover, a good classification scheme makes things valuable and less confusing and
provides important information about how organisms are evolved.
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History of Classification
• The origin of classification dates back to the ancient Greeks, who first described the process of
classification, the recognition of similarities, and the groupings of organisms. For centuries, biologists
have classified the forms of life visible to the naked eye as either animal or plant. This practice was
eventually adopted as scientific bases for separating the living world to the two kingdoms (groupings)
Animalia and Plantae.
• Theophrastus (370-277 B.C.) classified the plants on the basis of their size and distinguished them in
four categories including: Trees, Shrubs, Half-shrubs, and Herbs. In 1753, the Swedish naturalist,
Carolus Linnaeus published System Nature, which together with his later works served to organize
much of the current knowledge about living things. He suggested the binomial system of plant
nomenclature.
• In 1866, one of Charles Darwin's students, Ernst Haeckel, proposed the establishment of a third kingdom
to eliminate the existing confused status of microorganisms and to provide a logical position for them in
the living world. This kingdom was to be called Protista, from the Greek word meaning "primitive" or
"first".
• The new kingdom comprised single-celled microbes, belonging to algae, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa,
and multicellular organisms that were not differentiated (organized) into distinct tissue and organs.
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The binomial nomenclature system
• Because people commonly name plants and other organisms in the language of their
country, there will be almost as many names for the same organism as there are
languages. For botanists and other biologists, this multitude of names represents a
significant barrier to the sharing of information. Therefore, in addition to the
common names that vary from country to country, each organism also has a scientific
name.
• Following the standard scientific system of nomenclature, the species name is
binomial (name consisting of two parts) and in Latin language.
• The scientific name of each organism indicates its genus (first) and species (second).
• In print, both of the two terms of a species are italicized or underlined.
• The genus is capitalized.
For example, Zea mays. Zea (genus) mays (species).
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Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cellular Organizations
• Development of the electron microscopy as well as techniques for
the preparation of cytological specimens have clearly
demonstrated the existence of two fundamental cellular
organizations, namely, the prokaryotic (before nuclei) and
eukaryotic (truly nucleated).
The eukaryotic cell, characteristic of all animals and plants
(excluding blue-green algae and bacteria). It have a membrane-
bound nucleus and other organelles. Prokaryotic cell lacks these
compartments.
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The species concept
• The basic process of classification is grouping and ranking. Grouping involves
the sorting of organisms into groups that have some features in common.
Ranking is the organization of the groups into a nested hierarchy of small
groups within progressively more inclusive groups.
• In the world of plants and animals, a species (plural, species) includes only
those individuals that interbreed, or could interbreed freely under natural
conditions and produce fully fertile offspring.
• A group of similar species is collected into a genus (plural, genera). Groups of
genera are then collected into families, families into orders, orders into classes,
classes into divisions or phyla (singular phylum), and divisions into kingdoms.
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How organisms are classified?

Hierarchy

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The Three-Domain System
Based on analyzing the sequences of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA, Carl Woese (1980)
provided the first evidence that the living world is divided into three major groups, or domains
Eubacteria, Archaebacteria (Archaea), and Eukarya. Two of which consists of prokaryotic
organisms (Bacteria and Archaea) and one of eukaryotic organisms (Eukarya).
Eubacteria (traditional bacteria): These are prokaryotic cells without a nucleus and
with only a single chromosome. This group includes the genomes of mitochondria and
chloroplasts.
Archaebacteria: Archaea are prokaryotes able to live in extreme environments. From a
structural viewpoint they are like eubacteria because they lack a nucleus. However, their gene
sequences and other biochemical features indicate they are slightly more closely related
genetically to eukaryotes than to eubacteria.
Eukaryotes: Higher organisms whose DNA is carried on several chromosomes which
are found inside the nucleus. Their cells are divided into separate compartments and usually
contain other organelles in addition to the nucleus. They are divided into four kingdoms,
including Protista, Plants, Fungi, and Animals.
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The Five-Kingdom System
One of the classification schemes that has gained
wide acceptance is the five-kingdom system
proposed by Robert H. Whittaker in 1969.
According to this scheme, the living world is
divided into the five kingdoms of Plantae,
Animalia, Protista, Fungi and Monera
(Prokaryotae).
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Unicellular and less organized Well organized multicellular
multicellular

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 KINGDOM
No. Subject Prokaryotae Fungi Protista Plantae Amimalia

Example

1. Chromosomes 1 >1 >1 >1 >1

Nuclear Absent Present Present Present Present

2.
membrane (Prokaryotic) (Eukaryotic) (Eukaryotic) (Eukaryotic) (Eukaryotic)

Present Present Present

3. Cell walls Present or absent Absent
(peptidoglycan' (chitin) (mainly cellulose)
Absorptive or Ingestive or
4. Nutrition Absorptive Photosynthetic Injective
photosynthetic... photosynthetic
Mobile or Mobile or
5. Mobility non-mobile Non-mobile Mobile
non-mobile non-mobile
Tissue Lack tissue Lack or Lack or
6. Well-organized Well-organized
organization organization not well-organized not well-organized
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 Sub-cellular forms of life
Viruses

• A virus is a small infectious particle that replicates only inside the

living cells of other organisms. Viruses can infect all types of life
forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms,
including bacteria and archaea.
• While not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell,
viruses exist in the form of independent particles. These viral
particles, also known as virions.
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Structure, shape and size of the Virus
Viruses consist of two or three parts:
(i) The genetic material made from either DNA or RNA, long molecules that
carry genetic information;
(ii) A protein coat, called the capsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic
material; and in some cases
(iii) An envelope of lipids that surrounds the protein coat when they are outside
a cell.
• The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral
(polyhedron with 20 face) forms for some virus species to more complex
structures for others.
• Most virus species have virions that are too small to be seen with an optical
microscope. The average virion is about one one-hundredth (1%) the size of the
average bacterium. Millions of viruses could easily fit on a pinhead.
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 Shapes of Viruses Capsids

Helical Icosahedral Complex

(e.g. Tobacco mosaic virus TMV) (e.g. Adenovirus) (e.g. Bacteriophage, T phage)
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Phages reproductive cycles:
I- The lytic Cycle
• A reproductive cycle of a virus that ends in death of the host cell is known as Lytic cycle.
• The term refers to the last stage of infection, during which the bacterium lyses (breaks open) and releases the
phages that were produced within the cell.
• Each of these phages can then infect a healthy cell, and a few successive lytic cycles can destroy an entire
bacterial colony in just hours.
• Viruses that depend on lytic cycles to reproduce are called virulent viruses.
II- The lysogenic cycle
• In contrast to the lytic cycle, which kills the host cells, the lysogenic cycle reproduces the viral genome without
destroying the host.
• Viruses that are capable of the two different modes of reproducing within a bacterium are called temperate
viruses.
• The viral DNA molecule incorporates into a specific site of the host cell's chromosome, and it is then known as
a prophase.
• The phage genome is mostly silent within the bacterium, and every time the bacterium cell divide, it replicates
the copies of viral genome into the daughter cells.
• The term lysogenic implies that prophases can, at some point, give rise to active phages that lyse their host
cells. It is usually an environmental cause, such as radiation or the presence of certain chemicals...etc.
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 Lytic and lysogenic cycles

5. Release:
New viruses
Bacterial cell wall leave host cell.
Bacterial chromosome capsid
nucleic acid

1. Attachment: 4. Maturation:
Capsid combines a. Lytic cycle Assembly of viral
with receptor. components.

2. Penetration: 3. Biosynthesis:
Viral DNA Viral components
enters host. are synthesized.
b. Lysogenic cycle

prophage
Integration:
Viral DNA passed on
when bacteria reproduce. 19
Dr. Mohamed Saad Abdel-Kareem