Kingdom of animals and bacteria. What kingdoms of living organisms are distinguished in nature?

Over the entire history of human existence, a lot of knowledge has accumulated about the diversity of living nature. With the help of the science of taxonomy, all living nature is divided into kingdoms. In this article we will tell you which kingdoms of living organisms biology studies, about their features and characteristics.

The difference between living nature and inanimate nature

Distinctive features of living nature are:

• growth and development;
• breath;
• nutrition;
• reproduction;
• perception and response to environmental influences.

However, distinguishing living organisms from inanimate nature is not so easy. The fact is that many objects are similar in their chemical composition. For example, salt crystals can grow. And, for example, the seeds of plants that belong to living nature remain dormant for a long time.

All living organisms are divided into two types: non-cellular (viruses) and cellular which are made up of cells.

Unlike all existing living organisms, viruses do not have cells. They settle inside the cell, thereby causing various diseases.

Also a characteristic feature of all living things is the similarity of internal chemical compounds. An important factor is the metabolism with the environment, as well as the response to influences from the external environment.

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All living nature has its own classification. Kingdoms, types, classes of living organisms are the basis of biological systematics. Cellular organisms consist of two superkingdoms: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Each of them is divided into separate kingdoms, levels of the hierarchy of the scientific classification of all existing biological species. Scientists group bacteria, plants, fungi and animals into separate kingdoms.

Rice. 1. Kingdoms of living organisms.

The human body belongs to the animal kingdom.

Bacteria

These organisms are classified as prokaryotes because they do not have a nuclear membrane. There are no organelles inside the cell; DNA is located directly in the cytoplasm. They live everywhere, they can be found in the depths of the earth's surface and on mountain peaks.

Another type of prokaryotes are archaea, which live in extreme conditions. They can be found in hot springs, the waters of the Dead Sea, animal intestines, and soil.

Mushrooms

This group of wildlife is quite diverse. They are divided into:

• cap mushrooms (outside they have a leg and a cap, which are attached to the surface of the soil using mycelium);
• yeast ;
• mukor - a single-celled fungus of microscopic size. If it is present, a fluffy grayish coating is formed, which turns black over time.

Plants

Inside a plant cell there are organelles, such as chloroplasts, that are capable of carrying out the process of photosynthesis. Plant cells are surrounded by a strong wall, the basis of which is cellulose. Inside the cell there is a nucleus, cytoplasm with organelles.

Rice. 2. The structure of a plant cell.

Animals

An animal cell does not have a strong wall, like a plant's, so some of them are able to contract, for example, the cells of the muscular system. Animals move actively and have a musculoskeletal system. Inside the animal's body there are entire systems of organs that regulate the functioning of the entire organism.

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All living organisms on our planet are usually divided by official science into several large groups, which include a great variety of species and subspecies. Why are bacteria classified into a special kingdom? There are special reasons for this that allow scientists to use such a classification. Let us also look into this issue.

Two groups

Why are bacteria classified into a special kingdom? The answer is quite simple: all living creatures on our planet can be divided into two huge groups: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The second includes fungi with plants and animals - multicellular organisms.

The first is widely represented by bacteria (also cyan algae and microscopic fungi). Representatives of the first group have fundamental differences that make it possible to distinguish bacteria as special living beings, separating them from all others. Why are bacteria classified into a special kingdom? What is the difference, how did evolution distinguish them from others?

The main difference, or Why are bacteria classified into a special kingdom?

The main difference that allows for such a classification: a prokaryote does not have a nucleus, circular DNA exists directly in the cytoplasm (this segment is called a nucleoid). In eukaryotes, on the contrary, the nuclei are clearly formed, and the hereditary data are separated from the cytoplasm by their membranes. Thus, we see that bacteria are quite different from other living creatures living on Earth in their internal structure.

In addition, the vast majority of representatives of the other three kingdoms - animals, plants and fungi - are multicellular creatures. And almost all bacteria are single-celled.

Additional Features

There are additional reasons to understand why bacteria are classified into a special kingdom.

• Since prokaryotes do not have nuclei, there is no such thing as mitosis. They reproduce by simply dividing cells in half.
• Eukaryotes have large ribosomes and organelles: mitochondria and cell centers and the endoplasmic reticulum. And in bacteria, the role is played by mesosomes - outgrowths on the plasma membrane, and ribosomes - small non-membrane organelles.
• The cell of a prokaryote is much smaller than that of eukaryotes (about 10 times in diameter, about a thousand in volume).

Similarities of both groups

However, representatives of all groups are similar in their structure. The cells of any living organism contain: firstly, a plasma membrane, secondly, cytoplasm, and thirdly, ribosomes. This rule applies to all representatives of the kingdoms found in nature.

Manifold

Thus, we have established why bacteria are classified into a special kingdom of living organisms. And this kingdom is truly huge and includes a wide diversity of species, uniting archaebacteria and eubacteria, microscopic fungi and blue-green algae. Today's science understands bacteria as the smallest prokaryotic organisms, which are characterized by their cellular structure (size - 0.1-30 microns).

It is physically impossible to see these creatures visually, without the help of special optical devices. It is no coincidence that before the invention of the microscope device and even for some time after, some luminaries of science (including, for example, the famous Carl Linnaeus) denied the presence of these very important organisms in nature, attributing them to imagination. To date, scientists have studied only about two and a half thousand species of this kingdom. But much remains to be discovered - after all, not all species are known yet. And the study of various bacteria is carried out by a special branch of science - microbiology. She explores the most numerous inhabitants of our planet, which are invisible to the naked eye.

Question 1. How do plants differ from animals?

Question 2. What signs are characteristic of living organisms?

Living organisms grow, eat, breathe, develop, reproduce, have irritability, and release products of their vital activity (metabolism and energy) into their environment. All living organisms are made up of cells (except viruses).

Question 1. What kingdoms of living organisms do you know?

There are four kingdoms: Bacteria, Fungi, Plants and Animals.

Question 2. What features distinguish living organisms from inanimate objects?

Living organisms differ from inanimate objects in the following features: growth, nutrition, respiration, development, reproduction, irritability, excretion, metabolism and energy, mobility. Inanimate objects do not have such features.

Question 3. What is the importance of the ability of organisms to reproduce for the existence of life on Earth?

If reproduction stops at any stage of organisms, all living things will gradually disappear. This speaks about the interconnection of living organisms. Reproduction carries out the transmission of hereditary information and the continuity of generations. Reproduction allows a population to exist, to continue its species.

Think

Consider Figure 9. What phenomenon is depicted in it and why is it called the “power circuit”? Make your own food chain typical of living organisms living in your area.

This figure depicts the "power circuit" phenomenon. It really looks like a chain of certain links that successively replace each other. Examples:

Sun →grass →hare →wolf;

Sun → tree foliage → caterpillar → bird (tit, oriole) → hawk or falcon;

Spruce → squirrel → marten;

Sun →grass →caterpillar →mouse →viper →hedgehog →fox.

Tasks. Outline your paragraph.

Paragraph outline

§3. Diversity of wildlife. Kingdoms of living organisms. Distinctive features of living things.

Paragraph outline:

1. Kingdoms of living organisms;

2. Differences between living organisms and inanimate objects;

3. Main features of living organisms;

3.1. Cellular structure;

3.2. Chemical composition;

3.3. Metabolism;

3.4. Irritability;

3.6. Development;

Greetings, friends of nature. Today I want to tell you which kingdoms of living nature and their representatives exist and rule on our land. They interested me in their rich diversity, since nature created all its diversity over many millions of years.

It turns out that this is not one kingdom, but several, and they cannot live without each other, because in nature everything is interconnected. Do you know the representatives of the kingdom of living nature?

How beautiful our earth is at any time of the year, where everything is so rationally arranged that all living organisms on it, to one degree or another, depend on each other.

Sometimes we don’t even think about it and don’t pay attention. I will try to tell you about what kingdoms of nature exist, what they are called and how many there are.

These tiny microorganisms - microbes and bacteria - exist everywhere you look. But they can only be seen under a microscope due to their small size. And so, looking into the microscope lens, you can find bacteria with different structures.

There are those in the form of a ball, and there are also straight bacteria - like a stick, some are curved, while others have bizarre shapes. Their variety is so rich that it would be difficult to list them all here.

Speaking about bacteria, all of them can be divided into:

1. Useful, which are found in every living creature and help not only to properly digest food, but also protect against various diseases.
2. Harmful, which cause various poisonings and disorders of the digestive system and other organs.

In addition, in this kingdom there are still bacteria and microbes, the first of which, as I said above, can be both useful and harmful. But microbes are only harmful.

This is how this kingdom of good and bad microorganisms works in brief.

Kingdom of Viruses

So, for example, the hepatitis virus can live in the human body without damaging liver cells for many years. Currently known:

After reading this name of the kingdom, you probably thought about forest mushrooms? Of course, you thought correctly, but there are still a lot of mushrooms in the world, growing not only in the forest in the clearing, but also on the river and seabed.

More than 100 thousand species of mushrooms are known to our science today. It turns out that the most common yeast is . And the well-known forest mushrooms are edible and inedible.

Molds are also ubiquitous and can sometimes be difficult to get rid of.

They can be very harmful, as they lead to crop losses and diseases of people and animals. But among them there are also useful mushrooms, such as penicillium. Isn’t it a familiar name, apparently you guessed that the antibiotic penicillin is obtained from it.

Almost everyone who has their own personal plot grows currant or gooseberry bushes. And everyone strives to treat them against powdery mildew in the spring. This plant disease is caused by powdery mildew fungi.

Well, who doesn’t know this fabulous kingdom, which is so rich and diverse?

Their representatives make us happy both at home and on the street. Every spring, various plants bloom and bloom, giving us flowers that exude a delicate aroma.

There are about 400 thousand species of plants on our planet. The table below explains what species the plant kingdom is divided into.

And I would also add medicinal and poisonous plants to them. I hope you don't mind this?

This numerous kingdom plays a huge role on our earth, as it enriches the air with oxygen and provides food for many animals. And we grow their representatives in our dacha:

1. fruits and berries,
2. fruits and vegetables,
3. flowers and roses,
4. trees and shrubs.

Trees give us cool shade in hot weather, and warm our homes in cold weather. Without it, life on earth will cease to exist.

animal kingdom

A microscopic amoeba and a huge blue whale, what do they have in common, you ask? One is big, and the other is very tiny. And yet they are in this one kingdom. And why? Yes, because they feed, reproduce and breathe on their own.

Approximately 2 million species in the animal kingdom live on our planet. Unicellular or multicellular living organisms, they all exist and evolve for more than one million years.

Representatives of all these 5 kingdoms live and prosper, mutually complementing each other.

It is impossible to imagine a predatory wolf grazing in a clearing and chewing grass. Or a curly-haired lamb hunting a long-eared hare. After all, this is impossible in nature. Thus, all the kingdoms of the living world cannot exist without each other.

Living organisms, dying, are processed by bacteria. Viruses, killing the host, provide food for bacteria. The bacteria, in turn, provide food to the plants. Plants produce oxygen and feed animals. The circulation of living beings in nature is indisputable proof of their interconnection.

Take a look at all this diversity of the kingdoms of nature, which are presented here as a small but visual diagram, and everything will become clear to you.

I hope you liked my short overview of the kingdoms of living nature and their representatives, and you learned a lot from it that was useful for yourself. Write about it in your comments, I will be interested to know about it. And that's all for today. Let me say goodbye to you and see you again.

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Remember

What living organisms do you know?

Answer. Living organisms are viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals.

What groups can living organisms known to you be divided into?

Questions after §8

1. What does the word “classification” mean? Why is classification needed?

Answer. Classification - ordering, distribution of organisms into groups, based on the similarity of external and internal structure, as well as related relationships of living beings.

2. Explain by what characteristics do scientists classify organisms as one species?

Answer. The basic and smallest unit of classification is species. Signs that allow organisms to be united into one species are similarities in structure and characteristics of life, capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring similar to their parents.

3. Look at Figure 28. Which of the indicated kingdoms of living nature are already familiar to you? Give examples of representatives of these kingdoms.

Answer. Wildlife is divided into 5 kingdoms:

Viruses (representatives: influenza, smallpox, measles viruses);

Bacteria (representatives: lactic acid bacteria, tuberculosis bacillus, vibrio cholerae);

Mushrooms (representatives – yeast, mold, honey fungus);

Plants (representatives: pine, fern, birch);

Animals (representatives: earthworm, butterfly, frog).

4. What are the smallest organisms on Earth? How did scientists manage to discover and study them?

Answer. The smallest living organisms on Earth are viruses. They have a noncellular structure. The first viruses were discovered in 1892 by the Russian scientist D.I. Ivanovsky. Ivanovsky decided to find out whether any bacteria causes tobacco mosaic. He examined many diseased leaves under an optical microscope (there were no electronic ones yet) but in vain - no signs of bacteria could be found. “Or maybe they are so small that they cannot be seen?” - thought the scientist. If this is the case, then they must pass through filters that trap common bacteria on their surface. Similar filters already existed at that time. Ivanovsky placed a finely ground leaf of diseased tobacco into the liquid, which he then filtered. Bacteria were retained by the filter, and the filtered liquid had to be sterile and not capable of infecting a healthy plant if it came into contact with it. But she was infectious! This is the essence of Ivanovsky’s discovery. This is where the difference in size comes into play. Viruses are approximately 100 times smaller than bacteria, so they freely passed through all the filters and infected healthy plants, falling on them along with the filtered liquid. Bacteria are also distinguished by their ability to reproduce in artificially created nutrient media, but the viruses discovered by Ivanovsky did not do this. The term virus (from the Latin virus - poison) appeared later. This is how Ivanovsky discovered viruses - a new form of life.