FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION-RH Whittaker -easy and short summary

1. MICROBIOLOGY QUICK LEARN
FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
Ms Saajida Sultaana Mahusook

2. FIVE KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
• Five kingdom classification was proposed by RH Whittaker in
1969.
• Criteria for classification
• Complexity of cell structure- prokaryote, eukaryote
• Complexity of organisms- unicellular, multicellular
• Mode of nutrition- plants(autotrophs), fungi( heterotroph and
saprobic absorption) and animals( heterotroph and ingestion)
• Lifestyle- Producers(plants), consumers( animals), decomposers(fungi)
• Phylogenetic relationships- prokaryote to eukaryote, unicellular to
multicellular

3. This system places all living things into one of the five basic
kingdoms.
Five kingdoms
Monera or
Prokaryote Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia

4. MONERA OR PROKARYOTE
• This kingdom includes all unicellular and prokaryotic organisms
that lack a well define nucleus and membrane bound organelles.
Bacteria occur everywhere and they are microscopic in nature.
• They possess a cell wall formed of amino acids and
polysaccharides. Bacteria can be autotrophic and heterotrophic.
• They are both autotrophic (photosynthetic or chemosynthetic)
and heterotrophic (parasitic or saprophytic).
• Reproduction: Asexual(binary fission)
• Sub-groups-Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.
• Eg Bacteria and Blue green algae

5. PROTISTA
• They are unicellular and eukaryotic organisms.
• Some of them have pseudopodia, cilia or flagella for motility.
• They possess autotrophic and heterotrophic mode of nutrition.
• Protista reproduce mostly asexually and sexually with cell fusion and zygote
formation.
• Sub-groups- Chrysophytes( golden algae), Dinoflagellates, Euglenoids, Euglenoids
and Protozoans.
• Eg Amoeba, Euglena , Paramecium

6. FUNGI
• They are unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic organisms.
• The filamentous fungi comprises of slender, long thread-like
constructions called hyphae. The mass of hyphae is called
mycelium.
• The cell wall of fungi is composed of polysaccharides and
chitin. They are distict from plants that they donot produce
chlorophyll.
• Fungi are heterotrophic. Most of the fungi are saprophytes,
Some fungi are symbiont and parasites. The symbiont fungi
live in association with algae, called as lichens; and in
association with roots of higher plants called as mycorrhiza.
• Reproduction in fungi is mostly by vegetative method such
as fragmentation, fission, budding and asexual
reproductiuon by spores.
• Eg Yeast (unicellular), Moulds, Mushrooms(multicellular)

7. PLANTAE
• The kingdom Plantae consists of multicellular, eukaryotes which
have chloroplast.
• They are autotrophic in nature
• The cell wall mainly comprises of cellulose. They exhibit high
level of tissue differentiation and specialized body organs.
• Plants have two distinct phases in their lifecycle-Alternation of
Generation. These phases alternate with each other. The diploid
saprophytic and the haploid gametophytic phase. The lengths of
the diploid and haploid phases vary among dissimilar groups of
plants.
• Plants reproduce through asexual vegetative propogation and
sexual method.
• Eg Plants

8. ANIMALIA
• The kingdom includes multicellular, eukaryotes and lack cell wall.
• They are heterotrophic in nature. The animals are directly or
indirectly dependent on food on plants. Their mode of nutrition is
holozoic( ingestion).
• Many of the animals are adept for locomotion.
• They reproduce by sexual mode of reproduction.
• Eg insects, animals, birds, humans.

10. Five Kingdom Classification

11. Reference:
• https://byjus.com/biology/five-kingdoms-classification/
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/122103039/2
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