CHAPTER -2

BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
PREPARED BY: DR. KANAK LATA
CLASS: XI
•Who was the first person to attempt a
more scientific basis of classification and
what was his basis?
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 on the basis
of presence or absence of red blood cells.
•Who gave two kingdom system of
classification?
Linnaeus gave two kingdom system of
classification into Plantae and Animalia.
Demerits of Linnaeus classification: This
system did not distinguish between
eukaryotes and prokaryotes, unicellular and
multicellular organisms and photosynthetic
(green algae) and non photosynthetic (Fungi)
organisms.
R.H.Whittakar (1969) proposed a five kingdom
classification namely Monera, Protista, Fungi,
Plantae and Animalia.
•What were the main criteria for Whittakar’s
classification?
The main criteria for Whittakar’s classifications
were:
•Cell structure.
•Thallus organization.
•Mode of nutrition.
•Reproduction.
•Phylogenetic relationships (Evolutionary
relationships)
Kingdom Monera:
•Sole members of this kingdom are bacteria.
•Prokaryotes.
•May be phosynthetic autotrophic or
chemosynthetic autotrophic but mostly
heterotrophs.
•Present everywhere (omnipresent).
•Wide range of habitat such as hot springs,
deserts snow, deep oceans etc.
•It shows extensive metabolic diversity.
•Some are parasites. Structure is simple but
behaviour is complex.
Classification of bacteria on the basis of
their shapes:
•Spherical: Coccus (Cocci)
•Rod shaped: Bacillus (Bacilli)
•Comma shaped: Vibrium (Vibrio)
•Spiral: Spirillum (Spirilla)
Archaebacteria:
•Archaebacteria are special because they live in
most harsh habitats such as extreme salty water
areas (halophiles), hot springs
(thermoacidophiles) and marshy areas
(methanogenes).
•These bacteria have different cell wall structure
which enables them to cope up extreme harsh
condition.
•Methanogenes are present in the guts of several
ruminants like cow and buffaloes and hence
responsible for production of methane gas from
dung of these animals.
 Eubacteria:
•These are the true bacteria.
Characterized by a rigid cell wall and presence of
flagellum if motile.
a)Cyanobacteria:
•Called blue green algae.
•They have chlorophyll ‘a’ similar to green plants that
is why called photosynthetic autotrophs.
•Cyanobacteria are unicellular, colonial or
filamentous, marine or terrestrial algae.
•The colonies are generally surrounded by
mucilaginous (gelatinous) sheath.
•Some of these organisms have capability to fix
atmospheric nitrogen in specialized cells called
heterocyst. Examples: Nostoc, Anabaena.
c) Chemosynthetic autotrophic bacteria:
•It oxidizes various inorganic substances such as
nitrites and ammonia and use the released energy for
their ATP production.
•They play great role in recycling nutrients like
nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and sulphur
d)Heterotrophic bacteria:
•Most abundant in nature.
•Mostly decomposers.
•They are also helpful in making curd from milk,
production of antibiotics, fixing nitrogen in legume
root nodules.
•Some causes severe diseases in human beings
( cholera, typhoid, tetanus) and plants (citrus canker)
e)Mycoplasma:
•Lack of cell wall.
•Smallest living cells known and can survive
without oxygen.
•Many are pathogenic in plants and animals.
Reproduction in Bacteria:
•Mainly by fission.
•During unfavourable situation reproduces by
spores.
•They also reproduce by a sort of sexual
reproduction by adopting a primitive type of DNA
transfer from one bacterium to the other by
conjugation tube.
Kingdom Protista:
•Single celled eukaryotes so a well defined
nucleus and membrane bound organelles
are present.
•Primarily aquatic.
•This kingdom forms a link with the others
dealing with plants, animals and fungi.
•Presence of cilia or flagella.
•Reproduces asexually and sexually by a
process involving cell fusion and zygote
formation.
Chrysophytes:
Includes diatoms and golden algae (desmids)
Present in fresh water as well as marine environments.
Microscopic and plankton.
Mostly photosynthetic.
In diatoms the cell wall form two thin overlapping
shells, that fit together as is shop box.
The walls are embedded with silica and thus the walls
are indestructible. It leave large amount of cell deposits
in their habitat.
Chief producers in the oceans.
Diatomaceous earth: Deposits of silica on the earth of
diatoms habitat is called diatomaceous earth. It is used
in polishing, filtration of oils and syrups.
Dianoflagellates:
Mostly marine and photosynthetic
Yellow, green, brown, blue or red in colour
depending on the main pigments present in their
cells.
The Cell wall has outer surface of cellulose.
Most of them have two flagella: one lies
longitudinally and the other transversely in a
furrow between the wall plates.
Due to the excessive growth of red
dianoflagellates (Gonyaulax) the sea appear red
(red tides). Toxic released by them may even kill
marine fishes.
Euglenoids:
•Majority of them are fresh water found in
stagnant water.
•Instead of a cell wall, they have a protein
rich layer called pellicle which makes their
body flexible.
•Presence of two unequal size flagella.
•Photosynthetic but sunlight is not present,
they behaves as heterotrophs by predating
on other smaller organisms. Example:
Euglena.
Slime moulds:
• Saprophytic protists.
• 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.
•These spores are resistant and survive for
many years. The spores are dispersed by air
currents.
Protozoans:
•Heterotrophs and live as predators or
parasites.
•Regarded as primitive relatives of animals.
i) Amoeboid protozoans:
•Present in fresh water, sea water or moist soil.
•They move and capture their prey with the
help of pseudopodia (Amoeba).
•Marine forms have silica shells on their
structure.
•Entamoeba is parasite.
ii)Flagellated protozoans:
•Either free living or parasite.
•Presence of flagella.
•Parasitic form causes diseases like sleeping
sickness. Example: Trypanosoma.
iii)Ciliated Protozoans:
•Aquatic.
•Presence of cilia.
•Presence of cavity (gullet) that opens to the
outside of the cell surface.
•Beating action of cilia causes the water laden
with food to be entered into the gullet. Example:
Paramecium.
iii)Sporozoans:
•Have infectious spore like stage in their life
cycle.
•Example: Plasmodium (Malarial parasite)
that causes malaria.
Kingdom fungi:
•Heterotrophs.
•Great diversity in morphology and habitat.
•Fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on animals
and plants.
•Prefer to grow in warm and humid places.
•Except yeast all are filamentous.
•Cell wall is composed of chitin and polysaccharides.
•They may be saprophytes (on dead), parasites (on or in living),
symbionts (association with algae) or micorrhiza (with roots of
higher plants).
•Reproduction by vegetative means (fragmentation, fission,
budding).
•Asexual reproduction by spores called conidia or sporangiospores
or zoospores.
•Sexual reproduction by oospores, ascospores and basidiospores.
•The various spores are produced in distinct structure called fruiting
body.
Steps of sexual reproduction:
•Fusion of protoplasm between two motile
or non-motile gametes called plasmogamy.
•Fusion of two nuclei called karyogamy.
•Meiosis in zygote resulting in haploid
spores.
Diakaryon and dikaryophase:
In ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, an
intervening dikaryotic stage (n+n) that is
two nuclei per cell occurs. Such a condition is
called a dikaryon and the phase is called
dikaryophase of fungus.
 Various classes of kingdom Fungi:
Phycomycetes:
•Found in aquatic habitats and on decaying wood in
moist and damp places or as obligate parasites on
plants.
•Mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic (multinucleate).
•Asexual reproduction takes place by zoospores
(motile) or by aplanospores (non-motile).
•These spores are endogenously produced in
sporangium.
•Zoospores are formed by fusion of two gametes
which may be isogamous or anisogamous.
(Oogamous).
Example: Mucor, Rhizopus, Albugo
Ascomycetes:
•Called Sac fungi.
•May be unicellular (Yeast, Sacharomyces) or multicellular
(Penicillium).
•Saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic or coprophilous
(growing on dung).
•Mycellium is branched and septate.
•Asexual spores are conidia produced exogenously on
conidiophores.
•Sexual spores are ascosopres produced endogenously in
sac like asci (ascus- singular). Asci are arranged in a
fruiting body called ascocarps.
•Examples: Aspergillus, Claviceps, Neurospora ( used in
biochemical and genetic work)
•Members like morels and baffles are edible.
Basidiomycetes:
•Commonly known forms are mushrooms, bracket fungi
or puffballs.
•Grow in soil, on logs and tree stumps.
•Some are parasites like Puccinia and Ustilago.
•Mycellium is branched and septate.
•Absence of asexual spores but reproduces by vegetative
means by fragmentation.
•The sex organs are absent but fusion of two vegetative
cells of different strains takes place which results in the
formation of basidium. Karyogamy and meiosis takes place
in basidium resulting in the formation of four
basidiospores which are exogenous. The basidia are
arranged in fruiting bodies called basidiocarps.
•Examples: Agaricus, Ustilago, Puccinia.
Deuteromycetes:
•Called fungi Imperfecti due to presence of
only asexual and vegetative phase.
•Reproduces by asexual spores called
conidia.
•Mycellium is septate and branched.
•They may be saprophytes, parasites or
decomposers.
•Examples: Alternaria, Colletotrichum,
Trichoderma.
Kingdom plantae:
•Includes all eukaryotes chlorophyll containing
organisms.
•Few are partially heterotrophs like insectivorous
plants (Bladderwort, Venus Fly trap) or parasites
(Cuscuta).
•Cell wall mainly made up of cellulose.
•It includes algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes,
gymnosperms and angiosperms.
•Life cycle consists of two distinct phases: the
diploid sporophytic and haploid gametophytic
phase. These two phases alternate each other
which is called alternation of generation.
Kingdom Animalia:
•Consists of heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms
that are multicellular and lack cell wall.
•Directly or indirectly depends on plant for their
food
•Mode of nutrition is holozoic.
•Reserve food material is in the form of glycogen
or fat
•Definite shape and size.
•Definite growth pattern.
•Sexual reproduction is by copulation of male and
female followed by embryological development.
Viruses, Viroids and Lichens:
Viruses:
•Viruses are not true living that is why did not find
a place in classification.
•The viruses are non-cellular organisms.
•They are characterized by having an inert
crystalline structure outside the living cell.
•Smaller than bacteria they passed through
bacteria- proof filters.
•They are obligate parasites.
•They are inert outside their specific host cell.
•In addition to protein viruses may contain DNA or
RNA as genetic material which is infectious.
•Viruses that infect the bacteria are called
bacteriophages or bacterial viruses and they have
DNA as genetic material.
•The protein coat of virus is called capsid made up
of small subunits called capsomeres that protects
nucleic acid. Capsomeres are arranged in helical or
polyhedral geometric forms.
•Most common diseases caused by viruses are
mumps, small pox, herpes, influenza, AIDS etc.
•In plants the symptoms can be mosaic formation,
leaf rolling and curling, yellowing and vein clearing,
dwarfing and stunted growth.
Viroids:
•Smaller than virus.
•Lack of protein coat.
•Only free RNA is present which is of low molecular weight.
•Discovered by T.O. Diener in 1971 and caused potato spindle
tuber disease.
Lichens:
•It is an association of algae and fungi in which both are
mutually benefitted from each other.
•The algal component is called phycobiont and fungal
component is called mycobiont.
•Algae prepare food for fungi and fungi provide shelter and
absorb mineral nutrients and water for its partner. They are
very good pollution indicators as they do not grow in polluted
areas.