Chapter -2

Biological
Classification

What is Biological classification?

•Indentification of difference among organisms and placing them into group that reflects their most
significant features and relationship is called biological classification (first given by Aristotle)

Two Kingdom classification system

Given by Linnaeus

Animalia Plantae

Demerits
•This type of classification fails to distinguish between eukaryotes and prokaryotes,unicellular and multicellular
organisms, photosynthetic and non- photosynthetic organisms.

Five kingdom Classification

Given by R.H.
Whittaker

Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia

 Characteristics of the five kingdom

Monera
•Bacteria are the sole member of Kingdom Monera and most abundant micro-organisms
•Bacterial structure is very simple, yet their behaviour are very complex,also show the most extensive
metabolic diversity
Monera

•Based on
their shape

Coccus Baccillus Spirillum Vibrium

(Spherical-shaped) (Rod-shaped) (Spiral-shaped) (Comma-shaped)
 Monera

Archaebacteria Eubacteria
(True Bacteria)

Archaebacteria
•They are found in the most harsh conditions on the planet,like extreme salty areas
( halophiles),hot springs (thermoacidophiles)and marshy area(methanogen).
•Methanogen are also found in the guts of ruminant animal such as cow and buffalo
•Methanogens are also responsible for biogas (methane)
•Archaebacteria has different cell wall structure and other unique features that help them to
live in these harsh conditions.

Eubacteria

•They have rigid cell wall and if motile,a flagellum also.

Photosynthetic bacteria -
•Cyanobacteria (blue -green algae ) have chlorophyll a that help them in photosynthesis
•Cyanobacteria are unicelly,colonial or filamentous, freshwater/marine ,there colonies are generally
surrounded by gelatinous sheath
•Some Cyanobacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen in there specialised cells called heterocysts
Example - Nostoc and Anabaena

Chemosynthetic Bacteria -
•These bacteria oxidise various inorganic substances such as nitrates,nitites and ammonium and use
released energy for their ATP production
• They play a important roles in recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus ,iron and sulphur etc.

Heterotrophic bacteria -
•Most abundant in nature and majority of decomposers.
•They have a significant role in your life like making curd from milk to production of antibiotics
•But there are some pathogens causing damage to animals ,crops and animals ,like cholera, typhoid
and tetanus are very known disease caused by bacteria.

Mycoplasma (Joker of Kingdom Monera)

•They completely lack a cell wall and they are smallest living cells know
•They live in anaerobic conditions
•Many of the mycoplasma are pathogenic in animals and plants

Reproduction -
•They reproduce mainly by fission but in unfavorable condition they can produce spores.
•They can also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction by adopting a primitive type of DNA
transfer from one bacterium to other.
 Protista
• All single -celled eukaryotes are placed under Protista,but the boundaries of this kingdom are not
will defined.
• The protistan cell body contains a well defined nucleus and other membrane -bound organelles.
•They reproduce by both ways asexual (cell fission) and sexual(zygote formation)

Chrysophytes

•This group includes diatoms and golden algae, most of them are photosynthetic and mostly found in
fresh water and marine as well, diatoms are 'cheif produces ' in the ocean.
•The cell wall of diatoms form two thin overlapping shlles which fit together as in a soap box.The wall
of are embedded with silica and thus the wall are indestructible

Soap box structure

•When diatoms have left behind large amount of cell wall deposit in their habitat ,the accumulation
over billions of years give birth to Diatomaceous earth
Economic importance -
•The soil of diatomaceous earth is used in polishing, filtration of oils and syrups
Dinoflagellates
•They are mostly marine photosynthetic and came in variety of colours brown,green,blue or red
depends on the pigment present in their cells
•Cell wall has stiff cellulosic plates on the outer surface, also they are biflagellted.
•Red tides - Red dinoflagellates under goes such rapid multiplication that they make sea
appear red,but many harmful toxins are released by such number can kill other marine animals
Example-. Gonyaulax
Euglenoids

•Majority of them are freshwater organisms found in stagnant water.

•Instead of a cell wall , they have protein rich layer called pellicle which make their body flexible
•Biflagellted,a short and a long.
•They have 2 mode of nutrition-
(i) In presence of sunlight they behave like autotrophs
(ii) when deprived of sunlight they behave like heterotrophs
Slime moulds

•Saprophytic protists,body moves along decaying twigsand leaves engulfing oraganic matter.

•Under favourable conditions they form an aggregation called which can spread several feet , but in
unfavorable condition the plasmodium forms fruiting bodies bearing spores at their tips
•The spores posses true walls , extremely resistant and survive for many years even under adverse
conditions ( dispersion through air)

.
Protozoans

• All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predator or parasite.

•They are believed to be primitive relatives of animals
Protozoans

Amoeboid protozoans Flagellated protozoans Cillated protozoans Sporozoans

•They move and •They are either free- •Have thousand of •This includes diverse
capture their prey by living or parasitic cilia that make them organisms that have an
putting out •Parasitic form cause actively moving infectious spore-like
pseudopodia(false diseases such as oraganism stages in their life cycle
feet) sleeping sickness. •They have cavity Example-
•Marine forms have •They have flagella that open to the Plasmodium(malarial
silica shells on their Example -Trypanosoma outside of cell surface parasite)
surface. The coordinated
Example-Amoeba movement of rows of
Cilia causes the water
laden with food to be
steered into the
cavity.
Example-Paramoecium
Fungi
•Show great diversity in morphology and habitat
•All members of this kingdom are heterotrophic organisms.
•All fungi are filamentous, except Yeast which is unicellular.
•There body consist of long,slender thread-like structure called as hyphae,the network of hyphae is
called mycelium.
•Coenocytic hyphae-Hyphae that has continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm
•Some hyphae has septa or cross walls
•Some are saprophytes ,but some are dependent on living plants and animals (parasite) and some
members are also found in symbiotic relationship for example lichen (Algae+Fungi) and
mycorrhiza(Roots of higher plants like cycas+Fungi).

Reproduction

•Fungi has 3 means to reproduce

(i) Vegetation
(ii) Sexual
(iii) Asexual
•Vegetative reproduce takes places by fragmentation,fission and budding.
•Asexual reproduction is by spores called conidia/sporangiospores/zoospores.
•Sexualreproduction takes by mating of two compatible hyphae. And after fusion it immediately results
in diploid cells(2n). However in some fungi like ascomycetes and basidiomycetes ,an intervening
dikaryotic stage(n+n …i.e. 2 nuclei per cell) such condition is called dikaryon and the phase is called
dikaryophase .Later, these dikaryotic cell,the parental nuclei fuse and become diploid
diploid. Which in turn formation of fruiting bodies in which reduction division (meiosis) occurs,leading
To formation of haploid spores .
•The sexual cycle involves the following three steps-
(i)Plasmogany-Fusion of protoplasm between two motile or non-motile gamtes.
(ii)Karogamy- Fusion of two nuclei
(iii)Meiosis- In zygote resulting in haploid spores.
Fungi

Phycomycetes Ascomycetes Basidiomycetes Deuteromycetes

Phycomycetes
•Habitat-Aquatic habitat and decaying wood or as obligate parasites on plant Mucor
•Mycelium-Aseptate and coenocytic
•Reproduction-
(i) Asexually -By endogenously produced zoospores (motile) or alpanospores.
(ii) Sexually -Zygospore is formed by fusion of two gametes.
Example-Mucor and Albugo(parasitic fungi on mustard).
Ascomycetes (sac fungi)
•Habitat-Coprophilous(growing on dung) , saprophytes decomposers or parasitic.
•Mycelium-Multicellular ,rarely unicellular, branched and septate.
Reproduction-
(i) Asexually -Conidia,produced exogenously Aspergillus.
(ii) Sexually -Ascospores produces in asci,these asci are arranged in different types of fruiting bodies
called ascocarp.
Example - Neurospora (extensively used in biochemistry and genetics), truffles(edible) and Penicillium
Basidiomycetes (club fungi)

•Habitat- Grow in soil,on log and tress stumps or as parasites (rust and smuts).
•Mycelium-Branched and septate Agaricus
•Reproductio- (Mushroom)
(i) Vegetatively- Fragmentation
(ii) Asexually -Generally not found
(iii) Sexually - Sexual spores are basidiospores formed on basidium inside basidiocarps.Sex organ
absent
Example- Ustilago,Puffballs and Puccinia

Deuteromycetes (imperfect fungi)

•Habitat-Saprophytes, parasite and some are decomposers

•Mycelium-Branched and septate
•Reproduction-
(i) Asexually -Conidia
(ii) Sexually -Absent
Example-Alternaria,Colletotrichum,Trichoderma
 Plantae
•Includes all eukaryotes chlorophyll containing organisms
•Some are partially heterotrophic such as insectivorous plants example Venus fly trap,Bladderwort etc
•Life cycle has two distinct phases-diploid sporophytic and haploid gametophytic ,this phenomenon is
called alternative to generation.

Animalia
•Includes all heterotrophic eukaryotes organisms.
•They are multicellular and lack cell walls.
•Mode of nutrition is holozoic
•Store food as glycogen or fat
•Capable of locomotion
•Higher forms show elaborate sensory and neuromotor mechanism

In five kingdom Classification of Whittaker there is no mention of

lichens, virus, viroids and prions

Virus

•Viruses are non-cellular that are characterised by having a inert crystalline structure outside the
living cell.Obligate parasite
•Viruses contain either RNA or DNA,No virus can contain both genetic material
•Bacterial viruses have dsDNA,viruses that infect plants generally have ss-RNA.
•Protein coat is called made up of capsomeres ,which protect the nuclei acid.These capsomeres are
helical or polyedral geometric forms.
•Virus name given by Pasteur,recognised by D.J.Ivanowsky, demonstrated by M.W.Beijerinek.
•Bacteriophages(viruses that infect bacteria) are usually double stranded DNA viruses.
•Viruses causes diseases in animal as well as plants,they cause mumps,small pox,herpes and AIDS .

Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)

Bacteriophage

Viroids
•Virus -Protein coat =Viriods ,free RNA
•In 1972,T.O.Diener discover viroids
Example-Potato spindler tuber disease
Lichens
•Symbiotic association between algae and fungi
•The algal component is phycobiont(autotrophic) and fungal component is mycobiont (heterotrophic)
•Lichens are good pollution indicator,they do not grow in polluted areas
Q.Describe briefly the four major groups of protozoa.
All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predators or. parasites. They are be-lieved to be primitive
relatives of animals. They are classified into four groups on the basis of locomotory organelles.
(i) Amoeboid protozoans : These organisms live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil. They move and
capture their prey by developing pseudopodia (false feet) as in Amoeba. Some of them such as
Entamoeba are parasites.
(ii)Flagellated protozoans : The members of this group are either free-living or parasitic. They have
flagella for locomotion. The parasitic forms cause diseases such as sleeping sickness e.g., Trypanosoma.
(iii)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 to be
steered into the gullet e.g., Paramecium.
(iv)Sporozoans: This includes diverse parasitic organisms that have an infectious spore¬like stage in
their life cycle.
Q.What do the terms phycobiont and mycobiont signify?
A lichen is structurally organised entity consisting of the permanent association
of a fungus and an alga. The fungal component of a lichen is called mycobiont and the algal
component is called phycobiont. Both mycobiont and phycobiont are associated
in symbiotic union in which the fungus is predominant and alga is subordinate partner
Q.What is the nature of cell-walls in diatoms?
The cell walls of diatoms are made of silica. Their cell wall construction is known as frustule. It
consists of two thin overlapping shells that fit into each other such as a soap box. When the
diatoms die, the silica in their cell walls gets deposited in the form of diatomaceous earth. This
diatomaceous earth is very soft and quite inert. It is used in filtration of oils, sugars, and for other
industrial purposes.
Q.Find out what do the term ‘red-tides’ signify.
Red-tides-
Red tides are caused by red dinoflagellates (Gonyaulax) that multiply rapidly. Due to their large
numbers, the sea appears red in colour. They release large amounts of toxins in water that can
cause death of a large number of fishes.
Q.What are the characteristic features of Euglenoids?
Some characteristic features of Euglenoids are as follows.
•Euglenoids (such as Euglena) are unicellular protists commonly found in fresh water.
•Instead of cell wall, a protein-rich cell membrane known as pellicle is present.
•They bear two flagella on the anterior end of the body.
•A small light sensitive eye spot is present.
•They contain photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll and can thus prepare their own food.
However, in absence of light, they behave similar to heterotrophs by capturing other small aquatic
organisms.
•They have both plant and animal-like features, which makes them difficult to classify.

NOTE: Worksheet (Important

questions of all typology with
answers) is provided as a seperate
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