Biological classification

1. Aristotle and Linnaeus

2. Aristotle was the earliest to attempt a more scientific basis for classification.
3. He used simple morphological characters to classify plants into trees, shrubs and herbs.
4. He also divided animals into two groups, those which had red blood and those that did not.
5. In Linnaeus' time a Two Kingdom system of classification with Plantae and Animalia kingdoms
was developed that included all plants and animals respectively.
6. This system did not distinguish between the eukaryotes and prokaryotes, unicellular and
multicellular organisms and photosynthetic (green algae) and non-photosynthetic (fungi)
organisms.
7. Classification of organisms into plants and animals was easily done and was easy to understand,
but, a large number of organisms did not fall into either category.
8. Hence the two kingdom classification used for a long time was found inadequate.
9. Besides, gross morphology a need was also felt for including other characteristics like cell
structure, nature of wall, mode of nutrition, habitat, methods of reproduction, evolutionary
relationships, etc.
10. Classification systems for the living organisms have hence, undergone several changes over the
time.
11. Though plant and animal kingdoms have been a constant under all different systems, the
understanding of what groups/organisms be included under these kingdoms have been
changing; the number and nature of other kingdoms have also been understood differently by
different scientists over the time.

2. R.H. Whittaker's Five Kingdom Classification

1. R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed a Five Kingdom Classification. The kingdoms defined by him
were named Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
2. The main criteria for classification used by him include cell structure, body organisation, mode of
nutrition, reproduction and phylogenetic relationships.
3. Earlier classification systems included bacteria, blue green algae, fungi, mosses, ferns,
gymnosperms and the angiosperms under ‘Plants’.
4. The character that unified this whole kingdom was that all the organisms included had a cell wall
in their cells.
5. This placed together groups which widely differed in other characteristics.
6. It brought together the prokaryotic bacteria and the blue green algae (cyanobacteria) with
other groups which were eukaryotic.
7. It also grouped together the unicellular organisms and the multicellular ones, say, for example,
Chlamydomonas and Spirogyra were placed together under algae.
8. The classification did not differentiate between the heterotrophic group – fungi, and the
autotrophic green plants.
9. Though they also showed a characteristic difference in their walls composition – the fungi had
chitin in their walls while the green plants had a cellulosic cell wall.
10. When such characteristics were considered, the fungi were placed in a separate kingdom –
Kingdom Fungi.
11. All prokaryotic organisms were grouped together under Kingdom Monera and the unicellular
eukaryotic organisms were placed in Kingdom Protista.
12. Kingdom Protista has brought together Chlamydomonas, Chlorella (earlier placed in Algae within
Plants and both having cell walls) with Paramoecium and Amoeba (which were earlier placed in
the animal kingdom which lack cell wall).
13. It has put together organisms which, in earlier classifications, were placed in different kingdoms.
14. This happened because the criteria for classification changed.
15. This kind of changes will take place in future too depending on the improvement in our
understanding of characteristics and evolutionary relationships.
16. Over time, an attempt has been made to evolve a classification system which reflects not only
the morphological, physiological and reproductive similarities, but is also phylogenetic, i.e., is
based on evolutionary relationships.

3. Kingdom Monera
1. Bacteria are the sole members of the Kingdom Monera.
2. They are the most abundant micro-organisms.
3. Many of them live in or on other organisms as parasites.
4. Bacteria are grouped under four categories based on their shape: the spherical Coccus (pl.:
cocci), the rod-shaped Bacillus (pl.: bacilli), the comma-shaped Vibrium (pl.: vibrio) and the spiral
Spirillum (pl.: spirilla).
5. Compared to many other organisms, bacteria as a group show the most extensive metabolic
diversity.
6. Some of the bacteria are autotrophic, i.e., they synthesise their own food from inorganic
substrates.
7. They may be photosynthetic autotrophic or chemosynthetic autotrophic.
8. The vast majority of bacteria are heterotrophs, i.e., they depend on other organisms or on dead
organic matter for food.

4. Archaebacteria
1. These bacteria are special since they live in some of the most harsh habitats such as extreme
salty areas (halophiles), hot springs (thermoacidophiles) and marshy areas (methanogens).
2. Archaebacteria differ from other bacteria in having a different cell wall structure and this feature
is responsible for their survival in extreme conditions.
3. Methanogens are present in the gut of several ruminant animals such as cows and buffaloes and
they are responsible for the production of methane (biogas) from the dung of these animals.

5. Eubacteria
1. There are thousands of different eubacteria or ‘true bacteria’.
2. They are characterised by the presence of a rigid cell wall, and if motile, a flagellum.
3. The cyanobacteria (also referred to as blue-green algae) have chlorophyll a similar to green
plants and are photosynthetic autotrophs.
4. The cyanobacteria are unicellular, colonial or filamentous, freshwater/marine or terrestrial
algae.
5. The colonies are generally surrounded by gelatinous sheath.
6. They often form blooms in polluted water bodies.
7. Some of these organisms can fix atmospheric nitrogen in specialised cells called heterocysts,
e.g., Nostoc and Anabaena.
8. Chemosynthetic autotrophic bacteria oxidise various inorganic substances such as nitrates,
nitrites and ammonia and use the released energy for their ATP production.
9. They play a great role in recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and sulphur.
10. Heterotrophic bacteria are most abundant in nature.
11. The majority are important decomposers.
12. Many of them have a significant impact on human affairs.
13. They are helpful in making curd from milk, production of antibiotics, fixing nitrogen in legume
roots, etc.
14. Some are pathogens causing damage to human beings, crops, farm animals and pets.
15. Cholera, typhoid, tetanus, citrus canker are well known diseases caused by different bacteria.
16. Bacteria reproduce mainly by fission.
17. Sometimes, under unfavourable conditions, they produce spores.
18. They also reproduce by a sort of sexual reproduction by adopting a primitive type of DNA
transfer from one bacterium to the other.
19. The Mycoplasma are organisms that completely lack a cell wall.
20. They are the smallest living cells known and can survive without oxygen.
21. Many mycoplasma are pathogenic in animals and plants.

6. Kingdom Protista
1. All single-celled eukaryotes are placed under Protista, but the boundaries of this kingdom are
not well defined.
2. Members of Protista are primarily aquatic.
3. This kingdom forms a link with the others dealing with plants, animals and fungi.
4. Being eukaryotes, the protistan cell body contains a well defined nucleus and other membrane-
bound organelles.
5. Some have flagella or cilia. Protists reproduce asexually and sexually by a process involving cell
fusion and zygote formation.

7. Chrysophytes
1. This group includes diatoms and golden algae (desmids). They are found in fresh water as well as
in marine environments.
2. They are microscopic and float passively in water currents (plankton).
3. Most of them are photosynthetic.
4. In diatoms the cell walls form two thin overlapping shells, which fit together as in a soap box.
5. The walls are embedded with silica and thus the walls are indestructible.
6. Thus, diatoms have left behind large amount of cell wall deposits in their habitat;
7. This accumulation over billions of years is referred to as ‘diatomaceous earth’.
8. Being gritty this soil is used in polishing, filtration of oils and syrups. Diatoms are the chief
‘producers’ in the oceans.

8. Dinoflagellates
1. These organisms are mostly marine and photosynthetic.
2. They appear yellow, green, brown, blue or red depending on the main pigments present in their
cells.
3. The cell wall has stiff cellulose plates on the outer surface.
4. Most of them have two flagella; one lies longitudinally and the other transversely in a furrow
between the wall plates.
5. Very often, red dinoflagellates (Example: Gonyaulax) undergo such rapid multiplication that they
make the sea appear red (red tides).
6. Toxins released by such large numbers may even kill other marine animals such as fishes.

9. Euglenoids
1. Majority of them are fresh water organisms found in stagnant water.
2. Instead of a cell wall, they have a protein rich layer called pellicle which makes their body
flexible.
3. They have two flagella, a short and a long one.
4. Though they are photosynthetic in the presence of sunlight, when deprived of sunlight they
behave like heterotrophs by predating on other smaller organisms.
5. The pigments of euglenoids are identical to those present in higher plants. Example: Euglena.

10. Slime Moulds

1. Slime moulds are saprophytic protists.
2. The body moves along decaying twigs and leaves engulfing organic material.
3. Under suitable conditions, they form an aggregation called plasmodium which may grow and
spread over several feet.
4. During unfavourable conditions, the plasmodium differentiates and forms fruiting bodies bearing
spores at their tips.
5. The spores possess true walls.
6. They are extremely resistant and survive for many years, even under adverse conditions.
7. The spores are dispersed by air currents.

11. Protozoans
1. All protozoans are heterotrophs and live as predators or parasites.
2. They are believed to be primitive relatives of animals.
3. There are four major groups of protozoans.
4. Amoeboid protozoans:
a. These organisms live in fresh water, sea water or moist soil.
b. They move and capture their prey by putting out pseudopodia (false feet) as in Amoeba.
c. Marine forms have silica shells on their surface.
d. Some of them such as Entamoeba are parasites.
5. Flagellated protozoans:
a. The members of this group are either free-living or parasitic.
b. They have flagella.
c. The parasitic forms cause diaseases such as sleeping sickness. Example: Trypanosoma.
6. Ciliated protozoans:
a. These are aquatic, actively moving organisms because of the presence of thousands of cilia.
b. They have a cavity (gullet) that opens to the outside of the cell surface.
c. The coordinated movement of rows of cilia causes the water laden with food to be steered into
the gullet. Example: Paramoecium.
7. Sporozoans:
a. This includes diverse organisms that have an infectious spore-like stage in their life cycle.
b. The most notorious is Plasmodium (malarial parasite) which causes malaria, a disease which
has a staggering effect on human population.

Kingdom Fungi
1. The fungi constitute a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms.
2. White spots seen on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus.
3. Some unicellular fungi, e.g., yeast are used to make bread and beer.
4. Other fungi cause diseases in plants and animals; wheat rust-causing Puccinia is an important
example.
5. Some are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium.
6. Fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on animals and plants.
7. They prefer to grow in warm and humid places.
8. With the exception of yeasts which are unicellular, fungi are filamentous.
9. Their bodies consist of long, slender thread-like structures called hyphae.
10. The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.
11. Some hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm – these are called
coenocytic hyphae.
12. Others have septae or cross walls in their hyphae.
13. The cell walls of fungi are composed of chitin and polysaccharides.
14. Most fungi are heterotrophic and absorb soluble organic matter from dead substrates and hence
are called saprophytes.
15. Those that depend on living plants and animals are called parasites.
16. They can also live as symbionts – in association with algae as lichens and with roots of higher
plants as mycorrhiza.
17. Reproduction in fungi can take place by vegetative means – fragmentation, fission and budding.
18. Asexual reproduction is by spores called conidia or sporangiospores or zoospores, and sexual
reproduction is by oospores, ascospores and basidiospores.
19. The various spores are produced in distinct structures called fruiting bodies.
20. The sexual cycle involves the following three steps: (i) Fusion of protoplasms between two
motile or non-motile gametes called plasmogamy. (ii) Fusion of two nuclei called karyogamy. (iii)
Meiosis in zygote resulting in haploid spores.
21. When a fungus reproduces sexually, two haploid hyphae of compatible mating types come
together and fuse.
22. In some fungi the fusion of two haploid cells immediately results in diploid cells (2n).
23. However, in other fungi (ascomycetes and basidiomycetes), an intervening dikaryotic stage (n +
n, i.e., two nuclei per cell) occurs; such a condition is called a dikaryon and the phase is called
dikaryophase of fungus.
24. Later, the parental nuclei fuse and the cells become diploid. The fungi form fruiting bodies in
which reduction division occurs, leading to formation of haploid spores. The morphology of the
mycelium, mode of spore formation and fruiting bodies form the basis for the division of the
kingdom into various classes.