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Whittaker classification

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21 views

Whittaker classification

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Miracle Irene
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Whittaker classification:

A scientist Whittakar has proposed a five kingdom system of classification for living organism.
These five kingdom system includes – Prokaryota, Protista, Fungi, Metaphyta and Metazoa. This
system is based on complex nature of cell structure, body organization, and evolution of cell and
mode of nutrition.
Kingdom: Prokaryota (Monera)
Organism having single cell and lacking cell organelles are comes under Prokaryota or Monera.
They possess mass of nucleoproteins. This kingdom is called Prokaryota because organism
contains prokaryotic cell (without nucleus). This kingdom is further divided into two types
Schizophyta (Bacteria) – E.coli
Cyanophyta – Blue green algae
Kingdom: Protista
Unicellular or Multicellular organism having a well developed nucleus is comes under Protista.
They do not show division of labor and further classified based on their mode of nutrition.
Autotrophs – Algae
Phagotrophs or heterotrophs – Protozoa
Symbionts – Fungi
Kingdom: Fungi
They possess a thick cell wall made up of chitin and cellulose and scattered ribosome. They
show saprophytic or parasitic mode of nutrition.
Example – yeast and mushroom
Kingdom: Metaphyta
It is a plant kingdom and shows tissue organization. Due to division of labor, organs are formed
in plants. It is also known as embryophyta and divided further based on the type of tissue
present.
Bryophyta – No conducting tissue
Pteridophyta – possess conducting tissues but no seeds
Spermatophyta – Possess flowers and seeds
Kingdom: Metazoa
It is an animal kingdom and having eukaryotic cells. They do not possess thick cell wall and
shows heterotrophic mode of nutrition. They show well developed organ system and further
classified based on tissue organization, number of germinal layers, development of jaws and
limbs etc.

Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms; shows degree of similarity among organisms. A taxon is a
group or category such as a phylum, order, genus, species, etc. Phylogeny is the study of the evolutionary
history of organisms.
Discuss the limitations of a two-kingdom
classification system.
A two-kingdom classification system is not based on
natural classification, it is based on ancestral
relationships. For example; DNA sequencing places
fungi closer to animals than plants.
Spa

Terms in this set (57)

Define taxonomy, taxon, and phylogeny.


Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms; shows degree of similarity among
organisms. A taxon is a group or category such as a phylum, order, genus, species, etc.
Phylogeny is the study of the evolutionary history of organisms.
Discuss the limitations of a two-kingdom classification system.
A two-kingdom classification system is not based on natural classification, it is based on
ancestral relationships. For example; DNA sequencing places fungi closer to animals than
plants.
Identify the contributions of Linnaeus, Whittaker, and Woese.
Linnaeus 1735: used a two-kingdom system - Plantae and Animalia; microbes were placed in
the plant kingdom.

Whittaker 1969: introduced a five-kingdom system - kingdom Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae,
Animalia.

Woese 1978: developed a three-domain system - Eukarya, Bacteria, Archaea; based on


sequences of nucleotides in rRNA. The domain Eukarya includes kingdoms Plantae, Fungi,
Animalia, as well as protists.
Discuss the advantages of the three-domain system.
The three-domain system provides a method for comparing cells and allows us to see the order
in living organisms.
List the characteristics of the Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya domains.
Characteristics of domain Bacteria include: prokaryotic cell type, peptidoglycan cell wall,
membrane lipids composed of straight carbon chains attached to glycerol by ester linkage,
formylmethionine as first amino acid in protein synthesis, antibiotic sensitivity, present rRNA
loop and common arm of tRNA.

Characteristics of domain Archaea include: prokaryotic cell type, cell wall LACKING
peptidoglycan, membrane lipids composed of branched carbon chains attached to glycerol by
ether linkage, methionine as first amino acid in protein synthesis, no antibiotic sensitivity, lacking
rRNA loop and common arm of tRNA.

Characteristics of domain Eukarya include: eukaryotic cell type, cell wall composed of
carbohydrates, membrane lipids composed of straight carbon chains attached to glycerol by
ester linkage, methionine as first amino acid in protein synthesis, no antibiotic sensitivity, lacking
rRNA loop and present common arm of tRNA.
Of what value is taxonomy and systematics?
Taxonomy and systematics provides a common reference and universal language for identifying
and classifying organisms. It is a necessary tool for scientists.
What evidence supports classifying organisms into three domains?
The discovery of three cell types: Eukarya, Bacteria, Archaea
Explain why scientific names are used.
Binomial nomenclature is used worldwide to consistently and accurately name organisms;
consists of a genus and specific epithet.
List the major taxa.
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Differentiate culture, clone, and strain.
A culture is bacteria grown in laboratory media. A clone is a population of cells derived from a
single parent cell. A strain is a collection of genetically different cells within a clone.

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