12 | A Handbook of Biology

 The number of species that are known and described, ranges between
1.7-1.8 million.
 Classification is the process by which anything is grouped into convenient
categories based on some easily observable characters.

ÅRÏSTØTLË’S ÇLÅSSÏFÏÇÅTÏØÑ
 Aristotle was the earliest to attempt a more scientific basis for
classification of organisms. He classified plants into trees, shrubs & herbs
and animals into 2 groups; those with red blood (enaima) & without red
blood (anaima).

LÏÑÑÅËÜS TWØ-KÏÑGDØM ÇLÅSSÏFÏÇÅTÏØÑ

 Linnaeus (1758) classified organisms into two kingdoms - Kingdom
Plantae & Kingdom Animalia.

THRËË- KÏÑGDØM ÇLÅSSÏFÏÇÅTÏØÑ

 This system was proposed by Ernst Haeckel (1866).
 He created a new kingdom Protista, having only unicellular eukaryotes.

FØÜR-KÏÑGDØM ÇLÅSSÏFÏÇÅTÏØÑ
 Proposed by Copeland (1956).
 Copeland created a separate kingdom 'Monera' (Mychota) for
prokaryotes.

Drawbacks of 2-kingdom classification: Prokaryotes

 (Bacteria, cyanobacteria) and eukaryotes (Fungi,
mosses, ferns, gymnosperms & angiosperms) were
1 included under ‘Plantae’ based on the presence of
cell wall but they widely differ in other characteristics.
 Fungi have chitinous cell wall while the green plants
have cellulosic cell wall.

It included the unicellular and the multicellular organisms

in same group.
E.g. Chlamydomonas (unicellular) and Spirogyra
(multicellular) were placed under algae. It did not
2
differentiate between the heterotrophic fungi and the
autotrophic green algae and plants.
Biological Classification | 13

It is proposed by R.H. Whittaker (1969).

CLASSIFICATION
FIVE- KINGDOM

It includes Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae & Animalia.

This is based on cell structure, thallus organization, mode of

nutrition, reproduction and phylogenetic relationships.

ÇHÅRÅÇTËRÏSTÏÇS ØF THË FÏVË KÏÑGDØMS

Characters Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia

Cell type Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic

Non-cellulosic Present (Chitin &

polysaccharides) Present
Cell wall (polysaccharide Present in some Absent
(Cellulose)
+ amino acid) (without cellulose)

Nuclear
Absent Present Present Present Present
membrane

Body Multicellular, loose Tissue/organ/

Cellular Cellular Tissue/organ
organisation tissue organ system

Autotrophic
(photosynthetic &
Autotrophic Heterotrophic
chemosynthetic) Heterotrophic
Mode of (photosynthetic) Autotrophic (holozoic,
and (saprophytic or
nutrition and (photosynthetic) saprophytic
heterotrophic parasitic)
heterotrophic etc.)
(saprophytic/
parasitic)

THRËË-DØMÅÏÑ ØF LÏFË (SÏX KÏÑGDØM ÇLÅSSÏFÏÇÅTÏØÑ)

It was proposed by Carl Woese.
Three domains are as follows:

1 2 3
Domain Archaea: Domain Eukarya:
Domain Bacteria:
Includes single Includes single Includes 4
kingdom of kingdom of eukaryotic
Archaebacteria Eubacteria. kingdoms- Protista,
Fungi, Plantae and
Animalia
14 | A Handbook of Biology

It divides the kingdom monera into two domains, leaving the remaining 4
eukaryotic kingdoms in the third domain.

KÏÑGDØM MØÑËRÅ
 Bacteria are the most abundant microorganisms.
 Hundreds of bacteria are present in a handful of soil.
 They also live in extreme habitats such as hot springs, deserts, snow &
deep oceans. Many are parasites.
 Based on shape, bacteria are of 4 types: Coccus (Spherical), Bacillus
(Rod-shaped), Vibrium (Comma-shaped) & Spirillum (Spiral).
 Some bacteria are autotrophic (synthesize food from inorganic
substrates). Majority are heterotrophs (they do not synthesize food but
depend on other organisms or on dead organic matter for food).
 Monera has 2 major group - Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.

ÅRÇHÅËBÅÇTËRÏÅ
 They live in the most harsh habitats such as extreme salty areas
(halophiles), hot springs (thermoacidophiles) and marshy areas
(methanogens). (Odisha NEET 2019)
 Archaebacteria have a different cell wall structure for their survival in
extreme conditions
 Methanogens are present in the guts of ruminant animals (cows,
buffaloes, etc). (NEET-II 2016)
 They produce methane (biogas) from the dung of these animals.
(NEET-I 2016)
 Halophiles and methanogens are obligate anaerobes while
thermoacidophiles are facultative anaerobes.

ËÜBÅÇTËRÏÅ (’TRÜË BÅÇTËRÏÅ’)

 They have a rigid cell wall and a flagellum (if motile).
 They include Autotrophs (photosynthetic and chemosynthetic) and
Heterotrophs.
 Term bacteria was given by Ehrenburg.
 ‘Germ Theory of disease’ was given by Louis Pasteur.
 Father of bacteriology-Anton von Leeuwenhoek
Biological Classification | 15

(a) Photosynthetic autotrophs (E.g. Cyanobacteria):

 They have chlorophyll a similar to green plants.
 Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) (AIPMT 2012) 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 them
fix atmospheric nitrogen in specialized cells (heterocysts).
E.g., Nostoc & Anabaena. (AIPMT 1994)

(b) Chemosynthetic autotrophs: (Eg. Nitrifying Bacteria)

 They oxidize inorganic substances such as nitrates, nitrites &
ammonia and use the released energy for ATP production. They
help in recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and sulfur.

(c) Heterotrophs
 They are the most abundant in nature.
 The majority are important decomposers.

Parasitic bacteria :
Some are pathogens,
causing diseases. They are used to
E.g., Cholera, typhoid, make curd from milk.
tetanus and citrus
canker
IMPACTS OF
HETEROTROPHIC
BACTERIA

Symbiotic
Bacteria :
Nitrogen-fixing in Production of
legume roots etc. antibiotics.
(Eg. Rhizobium)
16 | A Handbook of Biology

RËPRØDÜÇTÏØÑ ÏÑ BÅÇTËRÏÅ

Under unfavourable conditions, they produce spores.

Bacteria reproduce mainly by fission.

They also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction (DNA

transfer) from one bacterium to other.

MÝÇØPLÅSMÅS (PPLØ)
 These are organisms without a cell wall. They are the smallest living cells.
They can survive without oxygen. Many are pathogenic in animals and
plants. (NEET 2017)

KÏÑGDØM PRØTÏSTÅ
 It includes single celled eukaryotes
 The cell contains a well-defined nucleus and other membrane-bound
organelles. Some have flagella or cilia.
 Protists are primarily aquatic.
 It is a link with plants, animals and fungi.
 They reproduce asexually and sexually (cell fusion and zygote
formation).
 Protista includes Chrysophytes, Dinoflagellates, Euglenoids, Slime
moulds and Protozoans. (NEET-2016)
 Protists may be autotrophs (photosynthetic), symbionts or heterotrophs.
 It is a heterogenous group because the boundaries of this kingdom are
not well-defined.
Biological Classification | 17

ÇHRÝSØPHÝTËS

Found in Microscopic
and float It includes
fresh water Most of
passively in diatoms &
and marine them are
water currents golden algae
environments. photosynthetic.
(plankton). (desmids).

Diatoms

They have siliceous cell walls forming two thin

overlapping shells, which fit together as in a soap
box (AIPMT 2015). The left behind cell wall deposit of
diatoms over billions of years in their habitat is known
as ‘diatomaceous earth’. (NEET-II 2016) This is used in
polishing and filtration of oils and syrups. Diatoms are
the chief ‘producers’ in the oceans.

DÏÑØFLÅGËLLÅTËS
 Mostly marine and photosynthetic.
 They appear yellow, green, brown, blue or red based
on the main pigments present in their cells.
 The cell wall has stiff cellulose plates on the outer
Dinoflagellates
surface.
 Most of them have 2 flagella; one lies longitudinally and the other
transversely in a furrow between the wall plates.
 Red dinoflagellates (E.g. Gonyaulax) undergo rapid multiplication so
that the sea appears red (red tides).
 They release toxins that kill marine animals like fishes.

ËÜGLËÑØÏDS
 Mainly fresh water organisms found in
stagnant water.
 Instead of a cell wall, they have a protein
rich layer called pellicle. It makes their
body flexible. Euglena
18 | A Handbook of Biology

 They have 2 flagella, a short and a long one.

 They are photosynthetic in the presence of sunlight. In the absence
of sunlight, they behave like heterotrophs by predating on smaller
organisms.
 The pigments are identical to those in higher plants.
E.g. Euglena (connecting link between plants and animals)

SLÏMË MØÜLDS (MÝXØMÝÇËTËS)

The body moves

1
They are saprophytic
protists, without cell 2 along decaying twigs
and leaves engulfing
wall.
organic material

Under suitable conditions, they form

3 an aggregation called plasmodium.
It may spread over several feet.

Under unfavourable conditions, plasmodium differentiates and forms

fruiting bodies bearing spores at their tips. Spores have true walls. They
are highly resistant and survive for many years. Spores are dispersed by air
currents.

PRØTØZØÅÑS
 They are heterotrophs (predators or parasites).
 They are the primitive relatives of animals.
 There are 4 major groups of protozoans:

ÅMØËBØÏD PRØTØZØÅÑS

They live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil. They

move and capture prey by putting out pseudopodia
(false feet), e.g., Amoeba. Marine forms have silica
shells on their surface. Some of them are parasites, e.g.,
Entamoeba.
Biological Classification | 19

FLÅGËLLÅTËD PRØTØZØÅÑS

They are either free-living or parasitic. They have

flagella. The parasitic forms cause diseases such as
sleeping sickness, e.g., Trypanosoma (AIPMT 1990)

ÇÏLÏÅTËD PRØTØZØÅÑS

They are aquatic, actively moving organisms

using thousands of cilia. They have a cavity
(gullet) that opens to outside of the cell surface.
The coordinated movement of rows of cilia
causes the water laden with food to be steered
into the gullet. E.g. Paramecium.

SPØRØZØÅÑS

They have an infectious spore- like stage

in their life cycle. E.g. Plasmodium (malarial
parasite). (AIPMT 1990)

KÏÑGDØM FÜÑGÏ
 It is a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms.
 Fungi are cosmopolitan.
 They grow in warm and humid places. E.g. bread mould, orange rots,
mushroom, toadstools etc.
20 | A Handbook of Biology

White spots on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus..

Some fungi are the source of antibiotics, E.g., Penicillium

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.
 Except yeasts, fungi are filamentous.
 Their bodies consist of long, slender thread-like structures called hyphae.
 The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.

Some hyphae are continuous tubes filled with

multinucleated cytoplasm. These are called
coenocytic hyphae. Others have septae or cross
walls in their hyphae.

Fungal cell wall is made of chitin &

polysaccharides. (NEET-I 2016) Most fungi are
saprophytes (absorb soluble organic matter from
dead substrates). Some are parasites.

Some live as symbionts. E.g. Lichens (fungi+

algae), mycorrhiza (fungi + roots of higher
plants)
Biological Classification | 21

RËPRØDÜÇTÏØÑ
 Vegetative propagation: By fragmentation, fission & budding.
 Asexual reproduction: By spores such as conidia, sporangiospores or
zoospores.
 Sexual reproduction: By oospores, ascospores and basidiospores. They
are produced in distinct structures called fruiting bodies.

THË SËXÜÅL ÇÝÇLË ÏÑVØLVËS 3 STËPS:

Plasmogamy: Fusion of protoplasm between two motile or

THË SËXÜÅL ÇÝÇLË ÏÑVØLVËS

non-motile gametes.
3 STËPS:

Karyogamy: Fusion of two nuclei.

Meiosis: Zygote give rise to 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).
 In ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, a dikaryotic stage or
dikaryophase (n + n, i.e. two nuclei per cell) occurs. Such a condition
is called a dikaryon. Later, parental nuclei fuse and the cells become
diploid.
 The fungi form fruiting bodies in which reduction division occurs, leading
to formation of haploid spores.

Based on morphology of mycelium, mode of spore formation & fruiting

bodies, fungi are classified into different classes:

Phycomycetes Ascomycetes Basidiomycetes Deuteromycetes

22 | A Handbook of Biology

PHÝÇØMÝÇËTËS (LØWËR FÜÑGÏ)

 They occur in aquatic habitats and on decaying wood in moist and
damp places or as obligate parasites on plants.
 The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic.
 Asexual reproduction: By motile zoospores or by non - motile
aplanospores.
 These are endogenously produced in sporangium.
 Sexual reproduction: Zygospores are formed by fusion of two gametes.
 These gametes are isogamous (similar in morphology) or anisogamous
or oogamous (dissimilar). E.g. Mucor, Rhizopus (bread mould) and
Albugo (parasitic fungi on mustard).

ÅSÇØMÝÇËTËS (SÅÇ-FÜÑGÏ)
 They are rarely unicellular (e.g., Saccharomyces) and mostly multicellular
(e.g., Penicillium).
 Mycelium is branched and septate.
 They are saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous (growing
on dung).

Asexual reproduction: By conidia produced exogenously

1 on the special mycelium called conidiophores. Conidia

germinate to produce mycelium.

Sexual reproduction: By ascospores produced

endogenously in sac like asci (sing. ascus). The asci
are arranged in different types of fruiting bodies called 2
ascocarps.

E.g. Aspergillus, Claviceps and Neurospora. Neurospora

3 is used in biochemical and genetic work. Morels &

truffles are edible.

Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) used to make bread

and beer is called baker’s yeast and brewer's yeast. 4
Biological Classification | 23

BÅSÏDÏØMÝÇËTËS
1. Includes mushrooms, bracket fungi or puffballs. (AIPMT 2007)
2. They grow in soil, on logs and tree stumps and in living plant bodies as
parasites (e.g., rusts and smuts).
3. The mycelium is branched and septate.
4. The asexual spores are generally not found, but
vegetative reproduction by fragmentation is common.
5. The sex organs are absent, but plasmogamy occurs
by fusion of two vegetative or somatic cells of different
strains or genotypes.
6. The resultant structure is dikaryotic which gives rise
to basidium. Karyogamy and meiosis take place in
basidium producing four basidiospores. Basidiospores are exogenously
produced on the basidium. Basidia are arranged in fruiting bodies
(basidiocarps). E.g. Agaricus (mushroom), Ustilago (smut) and Puccinia
(rust fungus).

DËÜTËRØMÝÇËTËS
Commonly known as imperfect fungi because only the
1 asexual or vegetative phases of these fungi are known.
(AIPMT 2015)

When the perfect (sexual) stages of these fungi were

discovered they were moved into other classes (often to 2
ascomycetes and basidiomycetes)

It is also possible that asexual and vegetative stage have

been given one name (and placed under deuteromycetes)
3 and the sexual stage another (and placed under another
class). When the linkages were established, the fungi were
correctly identified and moved out of deuteromycetes

They reproduce only by asexual spores (conidia).

4

5 The mycelium is septate and branched.

Some are saprophytes or parasites. Majority are

decomposers of litter and help in mineral cycling. 6
E.g. Alternaria, Colletotrichum and Trichoderma.
24 | A Handbook of Biology

KÏÑGDØM PLÅÑTÅË (PLÅÑT KÏÑGDØM)

 Plants are eukaryotic chlorophyll-
containing organisms with
cellulosic cell wall. (NEET 2018)
 Some are partial heterotrophs
(e.g. insectivorous plants like
bladderwort & Venus flytrap) or
parasites (e.g. Cuscuta).
 Plantae includes algae,
bryophytes, pteridophytes,
gymnosperms and angiosperms.
 Life cycle of plants has 2 phases:
Diploid sporophytic & haploid Plant cell
gametophytic. These phases alternate with each other. This is called
alternation of generation.
 Among different plant groups, length of the haploid & diploid phases is
varied. Also, these phases are free living or dependent on other.

KÏÑGDØM ÅÑÏMÅLÏÅ (ÅÑÏMÅL KÏÑGDØM)

01 02 03

Animals are They digest their

multicellular, food in an internal
They directly or cavity and store food
heterotrophic,
indirectly depend on reserves as glycogen
eukaryotic
plants for food. or fat. Their mode of
organisms without
nutrition is holozoic
cell wall.
(by ingestion of food).

04 05 06

They have a definite

Higher forms
growth pattern and Most of them
show sensory
grow into adults are capable of
and neuromotor
that have a definite locomotion.
mechanism.
shape and size.
Biological Classification | 25

07

The sexual
reproduction is by
copulation of male
and female followed
by embryological
development.

VÏRÜSËS, VÏRØÏDS ÅÑD LÏÇHËÑ

 In the five-kingdom classification, acellular organisms (viruses, viroid
and prions) and lichens are not mentioned.
 Viruses are not truly ‘living’. So they are not included in five-kingdom
classification.
 Viruses are non-cellular organisms having an inert crystalline structure
outside the living cell.
 Viruses are obligate parasites. (NEET 2019) When they infect a cell, they
take over the machinery of the host cell to replicate themselves, killing
the host. Thus, they are a connecting link between living and non living.
 D.J. Ivanowsky (1892) discovered virus. He recognized certain microbes
that cause mosaic disease of tobacco. They were smaller than bacteria
because they passed through bacteria-proof filters.
 M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the infected
tobacco plants cause infection in healthy plants and called the fluid as
Contagium vivum fluidum (infectious living fluid).
 W.M. Stanley (1935) showed that viruses could be crystallised and
crystals consist largely of proteins.
 A virus is a nucleoprotein, i.e., it has a protein coat (capsid) & genetic
material (RNA or DNA). (NEET 2014)
 The genetic material is infectious.
 No virus contains both RNA & DNA.
 Generally, viruses that infect plants have single stranded RNA. Viruses
that infect animals have either single or double stranded RNA or double
stranded DNA. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) usually
have double stranded DNA.
 The capsid is made of small subunits (capsomeres) protects nucleic
acid. Capsomeres are arranged in helical or polyhedral geometric
forms.
26 | A Handbook of Biology

 Viruses cause diseases like mumps, small pox, herpes, influenza &
AIDS. In plants, the symptoms can be mosaic formation, leaf rolling and
curling, yellowing and vein clearing, dwarfing and stunted growth.
 Viroid: It is an infectious agent with a free, low-molecular weight RNA
(NEET 2016) and no protein coat. These are smaller than viruses. It is
discovered by T.O. Diener (1971). He found that it caused potato spindle
tuber disease.

Capsid head

DNA
Tail sheath

Tail fibers

Bacteriophage

PRÏØÑS
 These are infections proteinaceous agents.
 The most notable diseases caused by prions are Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) commonly called mad cow disease in cattle.
 Its analogues variant Cr-Jacob disease (CJD) is found in humans.

LÏÇHËÑS
 Lichens are symbiotic associations (mutually useful associations)
between algae & fungi. (AIPMT 1996)
 The algal component is called phycobiont (autotrophic) and fungal
component is mycobiont (heterotrophic).
 Algae prepare food for fungi and fungi provide shelter and absorb
mineral nutrients and water for its partner.
 Lichens are very good pollution indicators. (AIPMT 1992)
 They do not grow in polluted areas. (AIPMT 1989)
 Lichens are pioneer in the xerarch succession.