22.

Biodiversity Biological diversity or biodiversity is the variety of living organisms and the variety of ecosystems that they form.

Five Kingdom System of Classification

Early classification

Plants Algae Fungi Plants

Animals Protozoa Multicellular animals

Ernst Haeckel (1866) Plants Multicellular green plants Protista Protozoa Algae Fungi Bacteria Animals Multicellular animals

Whittaker (1969) Monera Archaebacteria Eubacteria Protoctista Protozoa Green algae Slime moulds Fungi True fungi Plantae Multicellular green plants Animalia Multicellular animals

Marguilis and Schwartz (1988) Prokaryotae Eukaryotae

- The above 5 kingdoms have been divided into 2 domains (larger taxons), i.e. Prokaryotae & Eukaryotae.
Viruses are not fitted into this scheme of classification because they are on the border of living and nonliving. Therefore, they are dealt with separately.

Main features of the five kingdoms Prokaryotae (before nucleus) 1. The bacteria and cyanobacteria (blue-green bacteria/alga) have prokaryotic cells. 2. No distinct nucleus enclosed by a nuclear membrane. 3. No membrane bound organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts. Protoctista (Greek protos = very first; kristos = to establish) 1. This group contains all unicellular eukaryotes (true nucleus) and their direct multicellular descendants and live in aquatic environments. 2. All have a nucleus bound by a double membrane. 3. They include the algae and the protozoans. Fungi 1. Eukaryotic organisms with cell walls made of chitin; not cellulose. 2. Body is usually organized into multinucleate hyphae. 3. Cannot photosynthesise; most are saprobiont , obtaining food by the extra-cellular digestion of dead organic material. Some are parasitic. 4. Carbohydrate stores, when present, consist of glycogen, not starch. 5. They produce spores which lack flagella either asexually, sometimes sexually. Plants 1. 2. 3. 4. Multicellular organisms whose eukaryotic cells have cellulose cell walls. Contain chlorophyll in chloroplasts and are photosynthetic. Most plants store carbohydrates (starch or sucrose). Primitive plants reproduce by spores; more advanced forms such as conifers and flowering plants, produce seeds.

Animals 1. Multicellular organisms whose eukaryotic cells with no cell walls. 2. They are non-photosynthetic, feeding heterotrophically. Except for sponges, they all have nervous coordination.

Virus (fr.Gk = poison) Early hypothesis on the origin of viruses: Viruses were thought to be escaped nucleic acids which acquired the ability to replicate with the aid of the biosynthesis machinery of a living cellular host. Therefore, viruses origninated fr cellular organisms & could not be thought of as an ancestor to unicellular organisms or as occupying a place in between non-living particles & living organisms. Discovery of viruses: D. J. Ivanovsky discovered the tobacco mosaic virus ((TMV) Beijerink first person to use the word virus. Classification - classified based on the organism which it infects (plant virus, animal virus, bacteriophage) Naming of viruses - named according to the disease which it causes Eg. Soya bean mosaic virus, influenza virus, AIDS virus. Unique characteristics a. smallest organism (0.02 3m 0.04 3m) detected only with the EM. b. does not metabolise c. can be crystallised without losing its infective ability d. contains either DNA or RNA, never both types of nucleic acids together e. are obligatory, intracellular parasites f. enters eclipse phase in host cell (breaks down into its components) Virus Morphology

Viruses are made of 2 main parts: a. nucleic acid core (RNA or DNA genetic material /virus genome 5 to several hundred genes) b. capsid (protein coat, made up of capsomeres, specialised enzymes may be stored here) (Some viruses have a membrane-like glycoprotein envelope, derived fr host cell membrane / viral genes, for additional protection.) Virus shapes: Helix or polihedral, or a complex combination of these 2 shapes.

Viroids and prions are smaller than viruses. A viroid consists of a short strand of RNA with no protein coat. The prion consists of only protein.

Virus Life Cycle:

1. A viral reproductive cycle can be lytic (virulent phages), or lysogenic (temperate phages). a. In a lytic cycle, the virus destroys the host cell. The five steps in a lytic cycle are: attachment to the host cell; penetration of viral nucleic acid into the host cell; replication of the viral nucleic acid; assembly of newly synthesized components into new viruses; and release from the host cell. b. Temperate viruses do not always destroy the hosts; they can coexist for many generations. In a lysogenic cycle, the viral genome is replicated along with the host DNA.

Lytic reproductive pathway

Lysogenic reproductive pathway