Give the five kingdom classification. With full explanation.
Answers
Explanation:
The five kingdom system is the most common way of grouping living things based on simple distinctive characteristics. Classification systems are always changing as new information is made available. Modern technologies such as Genetics makes it possible to unravel evolutionary relationships to greater and greater detail. The five-kingdom system was developed by Robert H. Whittaker in 1969 and was built on the work of previous biologists such as Carolus Linnaeus.
Living things can be classified into five major kingdoms:
Kingdom Animalia
Kingdom Plantae
Kingdom Fungi
Kingdom Protista
Kingdom Monera (Bacteria)
A video showing a brief summary of the five kingdoms
Video: 2CXG
We will now identify the main distinctive features of each kingdom:
Kingdom Monera (ESGBZ)
The Kingdom Monera consists of prokaryotic, unicellular organisms. No nuclear membrane or membrane-bound organelles such as chloroplasts, Golgi complex, mitochondria or endoplasmic reticulum are present. Monera have a cell wall of protein plus polysaccharide compound, but not cellulose. They reproduce asexually by binary fission. Important examples of Monera include Archaea and Bacteria.
Bacteria are found everywhere and are the most numerous organisms on Earth. In a single gram of soil, there are about 40 million bacterial cells. The human body also contains 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells!
Mycobacterium bacteria that causes Tuberculosis.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria can cause skin infections, sinusitis and food poisoning.
Kingdom Protista (ESGC2)
Protista are eukaryotic and can be unicellular or simple multicellular. They reproduce sexually or asexually. Important examples of protists include the organism known as Plasmodium (which causes malaria), Amoeba and Euglena. There are two major groups of protists which include the Protozoans, whose cells are similar to animal cells in that they do not have cell walls and the plant-like cells which do have cell walls and are similar to algae.
Euglena an example of a protist.
Figure 9.9: Diatoms from Antarctic sea ice.
Kingdom Fungi (ESGC3)
Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that can be multicellular or unicellular. Mushrooms and moulds are examples of multicellular fungi and yeast is an example of a unicellular fungi. All fungi have a cell wall made of chitin. They are non-motile (not capable of movement) and consist of threads called hyphae. Fungi are heterotrophic organisms which means they require organic compounds of carbon and nitrogen for nourishment. They are important as decomposers (saprophytes) and can be parasitic. They store carbon as glycogen, not in the form of starch. Fungi reproduce sexually and asexually by spore formation. An important example of a useful fungus is Penicillium (a fungus which was used to make penicillin, one of the most powerful antibiotics ever created).
Figure 9.10: Examples of fungi.
Figure 9.11: Mushrooms are examples of fungi.
A TED video on the many uses of Fungi
Video: 2CXH
Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotics in 1928, after observing that colonies of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria could be destroyed by the fungi Penicillium notatum. This observation that certain substances were deadly to microbial life lead to the discovery and development of medicines that could kill many types of disease-causing bacteria in the body.
Kingdom Plantae (ESGC4)
Organisms belonging to the plant kingdom are eukaryotic and multicellular organisms. They have a distinct cell wall made of cellulose. Cells are organised into true plant tissues. Plants contain plastids and photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll. They are non-motile. Plants make their own food by photosynthesis and are therefore said to be autotrophic. Plants undergo both sexual and asexual reproduction. They store food as starch. Important examples of plants are mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants.
Examples of plant variety
Kingdom Animalia (ESGC5)
Members of the animal kingdom are eukaryotic and multicellular but have no cell wall or photosynthetic pigments. They are mostly motile and they are heterotrophic, which means they must feed on other organisms and cannot make their own food. They reproduce sexually or asexually. Animals store carbon as glycogen and fat. Important examples of this kingdom include: Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria (jellyfish), Nematoda (nematode worms), Platyhelminthes (flatworms), Annelidas (segmented worms), Mollusca (Snails and Squid), Echinodermata (starfish), Arthropoda (Insects and Crustaceans), Chordata (includes all the vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).
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