Question

Briefly discuss on five Kingdom classification. Add a note on merits and demerits.

Answer 1

• Proposed by R.H. Whittaker (American taxonomist)
• Criteria considered – cell structure, Thallus Organization, Mode of Nutrition, Reproduction, and Phytogenitic Relations.
•  kingdom classifications include: –
• Monera b. Protista c. Fungi d. Plantae e. Animalia

Merits:	Demerits:
Based on the complexity of cell structure & organization of thallus	Monera & Protista – Include both autotrophic & heterotrophic organisms
Based on mode of nutrition.	Include cell wall lacking & cell wall
Fungi-kept in a separate category from plants	Bearing organisms.
It shows the phylogeny of the organisms	So the group is more heterogeneous

Answer 2

R.H. Whittaker, an American taxonomist proposed five kingdom classifications in the year 1969. The kingdoms include Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. The criteria adopted for the classification include cell structure, thallus organization, mode of nutrition, reproduction, and phylogenetic relationship. A comparative account of the salient features of each kingdom is given in the table.

Comparison of Five Kingdoms
Criteria	Kingdom
	Monera	Protista	Fungi	Plantae	Animalia
Cell type	Prokaryotic	Eukaryotic	Eukaryotic	Eukaryotic	Eukaryotic
Level of organization	Unicellular	Unicellular	Multicellular and unicellular	Tissue/organ	Tissue/organ/ organ system
Cell wall	Present (made up of peptidoglycan and mucopeptides)	Present in some (made up of cellulose), absent in others	Present (made up of chitin or cellulose)	Present (made up of cellulose)	Absent
Nutrition	Autotrophic (Phototrophic, Chemoautotrophic) Heterotrophic (parasitic and saprophytic)	Autotrophic- Photosynthetic Heterotrophic	Heterotrophic- parasitic or Saprophytic	Autotrophic (Photosynthetic)	Heterotrophic (Holozoic)
Motility	Motile or non-motile	Motile or non-motile	Non-motile	Mostly Non- motile	Mostly motile
Organisms	Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinomycetes, and Mycoplasma	Chrysophytes, Dinoflagellates, Euglenoids, Slime molds, Amoeba, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Paramecium	Yeast, Mushrooms and Molds	Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms	Sponges, Invertebrates and Vertebrates

• Merits:

1. The classification is based on the complexity of cell structure and organization of thallus.
2. It is based on the mode of nutrition.
3. Separation of fungi from plants.
4. It shows the phylogeny of the organisms

• Demerits:

1. The kingdom monera and protista accommodate both autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms, cell wall lacking and cell wall bearing organisms thus making these two groups more heterogeneous.
2. Viruses were not included in the system.