Characteristics features of Living things / Differences between living and non-

living things:
a) Growth
b) Reproduction
c) Metabolism
d) Response to stimuli

1 GROWTH: Growth is an important feature of living beings. Growth can be

seen in some non-living things; like a cloud. But the growth in non-living things
happens because of accumulation of matter from outside. On the other hand,
the growth in a living being happens because of internal processes, i.e. cell
division. Most of the plants show indeterminate growth, while the growth in
animals is definite.
2 REPRODUCTION: All living beings produce their offspring through the process
of reproduction. Reproduction is important for continuing the lineage of a
species. There are two main types of reproduction, viz. sexual and asexual.
3 METABOLISM: The chemicals within a living organism undergo a continuous
change. This process is called metabolism. Metabolism is composed of two
processes, viz. anabolism and catabolism.
 3(a)ANABOLISM: The process of synthesis of any substance is called
anabolism, e.g. photosynthesis.
3 (b)CATABOLISM : The process of breaking up of a substance is called
catabolism, e.g. respiration.
RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL STIMULI: All living organisms respond to external
stimuli. Light, heat, chemicals, other organisms, etc. are examples of external
stimuli. Response to external stimuli is important for the survival of an
organism.
Classification is the arrangement of organisms into groups and sub-groups on
the basis of similarities and dissimilarities and placing them in a hierarchy
that brings out their relationships.
The organisms should be classified due to following reasons:
(i) Classification makes identification and the study of a wide variety of
organisms easy.
(ii) It reveals inter-relationships among different groups of organisms.
(iii) It gives information about the organisms and fossils of other localities.
(iv It helps inUnderstanding the diversity.
(v)Classification helps in knowing about bio-resources, their diversity and
evolution.
Classification based on the studies of fossil reveal evolutionary relationships
(phylogeny) among the organisms. For example, the fossil of Cooksonia that
appeared about 420 million years ago was the first known vascular land plant
from which other vascular plan is have descended. Similarly the Archaefructus
and Amborella are the oldest known angiosperms in the fossil record.
Systematics: Systematics is a branch of biology that includes identification,
classification, nomenclature as well as evolutionary relationships among
organisms.It is scientific study of organisms with the ultimate object of
characterizing and arranging them in an orderly manner.
Nomenclature (L. Nome = Name; Calere = To Call): The term nomenclature means
the scientific naming of organisms, taxonomic groups according to an
established system and international rules.
The rules of nomenclature are framed and standardized by five separate codes
such as:
(i) International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN),
(ii) International code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN),
(iii) International Code of Bacteriological Nomenclature (ICBacN),
(iv) International Code of Viral Nomenclature (ICVN) and
(v) International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (1CNCP).
BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE:
Carolus Linnaeus devised binomial system of nomenclature in his book Philosophia
Botanica The binomial system of scientific naming of organisms becomes a common
and established.. Itis now universally used. The scientific names are considered as
unique species identifiersRULES OF NOMENCLATURE:
1. It should be in Latin / derived from Latin
2.As per the binomial system the name of organism is composed of two
words. i.e. the first the first word a noun indicating the name of genus .The
name of the genus should always be capitalized.
3.The second word is the name of species. it should not be capitalized.
4.Binomial when written should always be underlined and when printed
italicized.
5. The name or abbreviated name of the scientist describing the species for
first time should be written after binomial. For example, Homo sapiens
Linnaeus is written as Homo sapiens (Linn). For example: Mangifera
indica Linn − described by Linn.
6. If the name is revised, the name of the original describer should be written
in bracket followed by the name of the revising scientist. E.g. Xanthomonas
compestris pv Oryzae Dye.
7. To avoid confusion the same binomial should not be used to name two
different species.
8.Name should be short, precise & easy to pronounce and informative.
9. The year in which organism was described should be written after the name
of the author or scientist.

TRINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE SYTEM proposed by Huxley and Stricklandt

According to this system name of any plant or species is composed of three
names (i) Generic name (ii) Specific name (iii) Subspecifie name (Name of
variety) When members of any species have large variations then trinomial
system is used. On the basis of dissimilarities this species is classified into
subspecies eg.
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis (Cauliflower)
Brassica oleracea var. capitata (Cabbage)
Brassica oleracea var. caulorapa (Knol-Khol)
Plant Classification: Type 1.
Artificial Classification:
The earliest systems of classification which remained dominant fom 300 B.C. up
to about 1830 were artificial systems, which were based on one or a few easily
observable characters of plants, such as habit (trees, shrubs, herbs, etc.) or floral
characters (particularly the number of stamens and carpels). Such types of
classification using some arbitrary or at least easily observable characters, often
irrespective of their affinity, is called artificial. The sexual system of Linnaeus is a
good example of artificial classification, which uses only one attribute i.e. the
number of stamens for grouping plants into 24 Classes as a result of which,
various unrelated taxa, which are not at all related but, similar in one respect
only, have been placed under the same Class.
Plant Classification: Type 2.
Natural Classification:
These systems of classifications are based upon overall resemblances, mostly in
gross morphology, thus, utilizing as many taxonomic characters as possible, to
group taxa. Charles Darwin postulated that, the present day plants have
descended from those existing in the ancient past, through a series of
modifications in response to changing environmental conditions, which means
that all present day plants are related to each other in one way or another.
Thus, the closely related plants should naturally be grouped together. This is
called natural classification. Thus, larger the number of characters shared by
different taxa, the more closely related they are to each other. This is the basis of
modern classification.

Plant Classification: Type 3.

Phylogenetic Classification:
The classification systems proposed after Darwin’s theory are mostly
phylogenetic i.e. they use as many taxonomic characters as possible in addition
to the phylogenetic (evolutionary) interpretations. These are expressed in the
form of phylogenetic trees or shrubs showing presumed evolution of the groups.
The natural systems are two-dimensional i.e. based on the data available at any
time and is known as Horizontal Classification, whereas the addition of the third
dimension i.e. past history or ancestral history results in phylogenetic
classification also known as Vertical Classification or Evolutionary Classification.
 Natural Classification Artificial Classification

Classification according to some

1. Classification based on important
unimportant or less important points
points of similarity.
of resemblance.

2. It is grouping of thesis according to Grouping of things according to the

nature’s plan and order. purpose of individual concerned.
3. It is an objective classification. It is an subjective classification.
4. It is for general purpose. It is subjective purpose.
5. Natural classification is a language Book classification is a language of
of ideas, mind and thoughts. ordinary numbers.
6. It is expressed through methods of
It is expressed through words, figure
expression, not merely through
language, cyber language.
words.
7. It is designed for extensive thoughts It is designed for specific purpose of
and knowledge. mechanizing arrangement.
 TWO KINGDOM SYSTEM
The two kingdom classification system was given by Carlous Linaaeus in 1758. Carlous
Linnaeus classified living things into two kingdoms Animal Kingdom and Plant
Kingdom.

Demerits:
(i) Many protozoans possess characters of both plants and animals. For example,
Euglena has animal characters but it contains chlorophyll.
(ii) Bacteria and Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) have many similarities between
them and are quite different from other organisms. Thus, it is difficult to place them in
their plant or animal kingdom.
(iii) Fungi and moulds were placed under Kingdom Plantae but they possess many
characters not common to plants.
(iv) This system is based mainly on two modes of nutrition, such as assimilation and
ingestion. The third type absorption was recognized subsequently.
Ernst Haeckel in 1866 proposed three kingdom classification, i.e., Plantae,
Protista and Animalia. The new kingdom was Protista which lack the capability
of tissue differentiation.
F. Copeland gave four kingdom classification ( miners, protista, plantae,
animalia). Later R. H. Whittaker added kingdom fungi to it and made 5
kingdom classification
Five Kingdom Systems:
R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed the five kingdom system of classification to
overcome these difficulties and to represent the living organisms according to
the evolutionary relationship among themselves. His five kingdom system is
based on:
(i) Complexity of Cell structure
(ii) Complexity of organism body
(iii) Mode of nutrition.
Merits:
The merits of five kingdom system of classification are:
(i) It reflects better relationship among organisms with regard to levels of
organization and mode of nutrition.
(ii) It reflects better evolutionary trend indicating gradual evolution of complex
organisms from simpler ones.
(iii) Better placement of certain controversial groups like Cyanobacteria, fungi,
Euglena etc.
(iv) Separation of kingdom Fungi from plants seems to be justified as fungi bear
own type of structural, physiological as well as biochemical characters.
Demerits:
The demerits of five kingdom system of classification are –
(i) The position of virus is not clear.
(ii) Kingdom Protista includes organisms having diverse form, structure and life
cycle, hence does not seem to be proper grouping.
(iii) Some organisms included under Protista (e.g. Dinoflagellates) are not
eukaryotic rather mesokaryotic.
(iv) Slime moulds placed under Protista differ considerably from the rest of
protists.
(v) The three higher kingdoms: Plantae, Fungi and Animalia seem to be
polyphyletic.
TAXONOMICAL AIDS
These are the procedures and techniques used to store and preserve
information as well as specimens of various plants and animals.
These help in identification, naming, and classification of organisms.
HERBARIUM :A herbarium is a storehouse, where a collection of dried plant
specimens are mounted on sheets, labelled and systematically arranged, based
on the universally accepted system of classification. A botanical garden contains
a wide variety of plants for scientific research, conservation, display and
education. Each plant is labelled with its botanical or scientific name and
family. Biological museums have collections of preserved plants and animals,
which are used for study and reference. They are preserved in jars using
preservative solutions or as dry specimens. Zoological parks are places which
house wild animals in a protected environment, similar to their natural habitats
under human supervision.
It is the storehouse of collected plant specimens.
Collected plant specimens are dried, pressed, and preserved on sheets and then
arranged systematically according to the universally accepted system of
classification.
Herbarium sheet contains label regarding date, place of the collection, scientific
name, family, collector’s name, etc. of the specimen.
TAXONOMICAL AIDS
BOTANICAL GARDENS
It has the collection of living plant species that are grown for identification and
reference.
Each plant contains labels indicating their scientific name and family.
Some famous botanical gardens are Indian Botanical Garden, Calcutta (largest
in India), Royal Botanical Garden, Kew (largest in world till date) and National
Botanical Research Institute.
Museum
It is the repository that has a collection of various plant and animal specimens
that are preserved for study and reference.
The organisms are preserved either in preservative solution or in the form of
dry specimen
It often has a collection of skeletons of animals also.
Zoological parks
Wild animals are kept in protected environments.
Provides opportunity for studying the behaviour and food habits of the
animals.
 MEANING OF TAXONOMIC KEY
A key is a device, which when properly constructed and used, enables a user to
identify an organism. Keys are devices consisting of a series of contrasting or
contradictory statements or propositions requiring the identifier to make
comparisons and decisions based on statements in the key as related to the
material to be identified. Thus, a taxonomic key is a device for quickly and easily
identifying to which species an unknown plant belongs
The key consists of a series of choices, based on observed features of the plant
specimen. It provides a choice between two contradictory statements resulting
in the acceptance of one and the rejection of the other. A single pair of
contradictory statements is called a couplet and each statement of a couplet is
termed a lead. By making the correct choice at each level of the key, one can
eventually arrive at the name of the unknown plant
INDENTED KEy (Yolked Key). The key contains a sequence of choices between
two or more characteristics. By careful selection of character at each subdivision
the exact name of the organism can be arrived at.
BRACKETED KEY. The key uses contrasting characters like the indented one but
they are not separated by intervening subdividing characters. Instead, each
character is given a number in brackets.
Key
Keys are used for identification of plants and animals based on similarities and
dissimilarities.
Manuals, monographs, and catalogues are other means of recording
descriptions.
Manuals help in the identification of names of various species of organisms in
a given area.
Monograph is a detailed and well-documented work on any particular taxon.
A biological key is a list of questions that helps to identify and classify plants
and animals. Each question presents contrasting characters of an organism in
a pair called a couplet. To classify the organism, the character similar to the
organism has to be chosen. So, in a couplet, one character is accepted and the
other is rejected. Answering the questions in an analytical manner helps in
identifying the organism. Separate taxonomic keys are required for each
taxonomic category such as family, genus and species, for the purpose of
identification. Other taxonomical aids like flora, manuals and monographs are
also used.
Viroids are free RNA molecules of low molecular weight without any protein
coat while viruses can have either RNA or DNA molecules encapsulated in a
protein coat. Viroids are smaller in size than viruses. Viroid: An infectious agent
that consists solely of a single strand of RNA and causes disease in certain
plants. Viroids lack the protein coat (known as a capsid) of viruses and are the
smallest known infectious agents. Viroids:
It has been discovered a new infectious agent that was smaller than viruses and caused
potato spindle tuber disease. It was found to be a free RNA; it lacked the protein coat
that is found in viruses, hence the name viroid. The RNA of the viroid was of low
molecular weight.