P age |1 Classifying and Ordering: The Work of Taxonomy THE FIVE-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION Ever since Aristotle and

other early naturalists began observing and collecting observations about organisms, just how to classify them into particular groups for convenient study has been a major issue. taxonomy involves no set laws or rules of Nature. Rather, it is a human-constructed way of assigning organisms to particular groups, using highly orderly and systematic methods. Because it is human-made, there is no single rock-solid way of classifying organisms. Instead, there are a number of different ordering systems or kingdoms commonly used by taxonomists Perhaps the most simple of these methods is the Five-Kingdom System. The Five-Kingdom System consists of three kingdoms of multicellular (many-celled) organisms, plus two kingdoms of unicellular (singlecelled) creatures. According to this system, most multicellular creatures belong to either the Kingdom Plantae, Kingdom Fungi, or Animalia.

Obviously, these are the kingdoms of plants, fungi, and animals. And all single-celled organisms belong to either the Kingdom Protista) or Kingdom Monera. Kingdom Protista consists of the protists. Protists are often considered the very first, that is, the most ancient, of all types of organisms. They are also among the simplest. The protists are eukaryotes, having a nucleus, but they are generally simpler than most plants, fungi, and animals. For example, the protist kingdom includes the amoebas. An amoeba is a single-celled eukaryote that frequently changes the shape of its body as it moves through its environment. Kingdom Monera is the one that includes the bacteria and all other types of prokaryotes. since they lack a nucleus, all of the organisms within this kingdom have cells with cytoplasm that essentially stands alone (moner). The bacteria and other monerans also lack other membrane enclosed organelles, such as mitochondria and Golgi bodies. Monerans thus have only the most basic facets of cell anatomy and physiology. Despite small cell size and structural simplicity, however, the Kingdom Monera and its vast populations of prokaryotes

P age |2 (such as bacteria) make up the majority of the Earths biomass or living weight. All of the bacteria on this planet, added together, weigh far more than all the elephants and whales and human beings combined! FINER CLASSIFICATION BELOW THE KINGDOM LEVEL Taxonomists also recognize a number of levels of classification of organisms below the kingdom level. You may remember the Pyramid of Life. In this pyramid, the horizontal layers are the various levels of biological organization, starting with subatomic particles at the base, and finishing with an ecosystem at the peak. Taking a similar approach, Figure 6.2 shows a Pyramid of Classification. At the broad base of this new pyramid lies the species. A species consists of individual organisms of a certain kind (species). In a practical sense, two different organisms (male and female) are considered to be members of the same species if they can successfully reproduce to create fertile offspring. Above the species level lies the genus. The word genus comes from the Latin for stock or kind. A genus usually consists of two or more species belonging to the same stock. This means that the related species making up a particular genus or stock have certain structural and functional characteristics in common. Further, these shared characteristics make the members of a particular genus distinctly different from any other group. In kingdom Animalia, for example, we have the genus Homo or man. Taxonomists give a two-part Latin name to each species of organism. The first name (capitalized) is the genus, while the second is the species. We modern humans, for example, are classified as Homo sapiens or wise (sapiens) man. The human race, for all its problems, may not really be considered wise, but it is the only surviving species of the genus Homo. The Fossil Record has provided abundant evidence of other (now extinct) species within the Homo genus, such as Homo habilis. Homo erectus and Homo australopithecus. Above the genus in the Pyramid of Classification lies the Family level. In taxonomy, a family consists of a group of related genera. Members of Homo sapiens, for instance, belong to the hominid or man-shaped family. Modern human beings and the man-like apes belong to the hominid family. Next comes an Order of organisms. An order is a collection of related families or organisms. Homo sapiens belongs to the Primate Order, as do apes, monkeys, and lemurs. Beyond the order is the Class. In taxonomy, a class is particular group of related orders. Human beings and other members of the Primate Order, forinstance, belong to the wider and more general Class Mammalia or mammals. Similar classes are grouped into a certain phylum. All Class Mammalia creatures are found within the still larger category of the Phylum chordata. The chordates are organisms with a slender cord in their backs, sometime during their development. All members of the Class Mammalia have such a slender cord, which eventually develops into a mature vertebral column, or jointed backbone,in the adult. Finally, the highest taxonomic category of them all is the Kingdom. A kingdom consists of a group of related phyla. All backboned organisms in the Phylum Chordata (including humans, of course), belong to the Kingdom animalia. Most of the prokaryotes (monerans or members of the Kingdom Monera) known about, today, are bacteria. Hence, we can nickname the bacteria as the kings of Monera. One relatively simple way of classifying bacteria is the way they react to particular biological dyes or stains, such as the iodinerich. Gram stain. Bacteria are classified as being grampositive if they stain violet with the Gram stain. They are called gram-negative if they lose the violet and take the color of the red opposite stain. Another way of classifying bacteria and other monerans is by the general way in which they get their energy supplies. autotrophs are self-nourishing organisms, often relying upon photosynthesis for their ATP. And, likewise, remember that heterotrophs are nourished from some other source beyond themselves, usually by eating organic foodstuffs. Bacteria, too, can be classified as either autotrophs or as heterotrophs. Among the a Autotrophs, there are two additional classifications, according to the specific way in which the bacteria are selfnourishing. Photoautotrophs contain chlorophyll and use light and photosynthesisfor their energy. chemoautotrophs use chemical reactions, such as nitrogen-fixation, to produce their food. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria take nitrogen gas (N2) out of the atmosphere and get energy by converting it into ammonia (NH3) or ammonium (NH4). Nitrogen-containing organic compounds like these, once produced by chemoautotrophs, are then used by green plants for their own metabolism.

P age |3 Many types of bacterial species live in the soil, water, on the skin, and even within the intestines of human beings. Most bacteria participate in orderlyrelationships with their hosts (the creatures they live upon). There is often a condition of symbiosis a successful living together. For example, Escherichia (, often abbreviated as E. coli, is a type of bacillus commonly found in the colon (large intestine) of humans and other animals. Normally, E. coli lives in symbiosis with its human body host. These bacteria, along with any others, help produce certain B vitamins as well as sulfur-containing amino acids, which are then absorbed into the human bloodstream. In return, the E. coli benefit by consuming glucose and other organic molecules found within the large intestine. Hence, the individual human being successfully lives together with the millions of E. coli and other bacteria in the colon. Many bacteria produce exotoxins or outside poisons, and then release these poisons into the surrounding environment. Even some types of E. coli bacteria, for example, when they are consumed in fecal contaminated food or water, result in bacterial food poisoning. The accidentally consumed E. coli can release exotoxins, severely irritating the walls of the stomach and intestines, and giving the affected person a really bad case of travelers diarrhea. The other major problem associated with numerous bacteria are endotoxins. These inner poisons are contained within the cell walls of certain gram-negative bacteria. Salmonella bacteria, for instance, are a genus of rod-shaped bacilli consisting of more than 1,400 separate species, most of which contain endotoxins in their cell walls.When such Salmonella are consumed in contaminated food (like raw chickenor hamburger), they may cause severe bacterial food poisoning.E. coli or other bacteria sometimes enter the bloodstream, perhapsthrough a dirty open wound in the surface of the skin. The result is bacteremia alternately called septicemia ,a condition of bacteria or rotting within the blood Bacteremia (septicemia) in our normally sterile human bloodstream can create severe fever and widespread scarring and infections. Viruses: Non-living Parasites of Cells System commonly used to classify all living organisms. A quick glance at Figure 6.4 (A) will quickly reveal why viruses are notconsidered living cells they contain no plasma membrane or other organelles! A virus basically is a tiny parasitic particle whose simple structure consists of a core of nucleic acid surrounded by a coat of proteins. This extremely simple structure is enough, because viruses do not eat or drink, grow, synthesize proteins, or reproduce by themselves. Each viral particle contains either DNA or RNA as its nucleic acid, but not both of them. Recall that both DNA and several types of RNA are required for protein synthesis. Hence, viruses cannot make their own proteins.Helical viruses contain nucleic acid round up tightly into a coil or spiral, surrounded by a coat of small repeating proteins. Polyhedral viruses have a protein coat with many (poly-) triangular faces coming together. Enveloped viruses are enclosed by an outer lipid envelope. The strangest of the lot may be the bacteriophage , which is sometimes just called a phage. Bacteriophage literally means bacteria-eater! While the bacteriophage doesnt exactly at bacteria, it does attack and destroy many types of bacterial cells. The bacteriophage (phage) particle is topped by a multiple-faced head portion, a slender neck within a protein sheath, and several long tail fibers flairing out at the bottom. These tail fibers attach to the cell wall of the attacked bacterium, then inject viral DNA into it. (Examine Figure 6.4, B.) The injected viral DNA uses the bacterial host cell DNA and RNA to reproduce itself in huge numbers. Eventually, there may be so many new virus particles that they release enough powerful enzymes to cause the complete lysis (rupture and breakdown) of the infected bacterium.

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