Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

Explain the basis for grouping organisms into five kingdoms?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
507.9k+ views
Hint:The five kingdoms are monera, protista, fungi, plantae, and animalia are grouped based on structure, number, and nutrition source.

Complete answer:
First we should know about five kingdoms to answer this question. In 1959, Robert H. Whittaker suggested a five kingdom grouping of living organisms on the basis of the cell structure, mode and source of nutrition and body composition classification system of Linnaeus as key features. Monera, Protista, Algae, Plantae, and Animalia are the five kingdoms described by Whittaker.
The basis for dividing organisms into five kingdoms is
Based on structure of cell: Two wide cell structure divisions are available: eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Under the kingdom of Monera, all prokaryotes come and rest in other kingdoms.
Based on cell numbers: It is divided into single and multicellular cells. In the Protista kingdom, unicellular eukaryotes are placed, while in other kingdoms, multicellular eukaryotes are kept.
Nutrition Mode and Source: Based on type of nutrition, cells are classified into autotrophic and heterotrophic.
Cell wall:- Within the kingdom fungi, heterotrophic species in which the cell wall is present are brought in. In the Plantae kingdom, autotrophic species are taken up in which the cell wall is present. In the kingdom of Animalia, species in which the cell wall is lacking are taken.

Note:Scientists started sorting living beings into separate groups very early on. Some biologists also grouped species into animals and plants. Such scientists who tried a wider method of classification include Robert Whittaker, Ernst Haeckel, and Carl Woese. Among these, Robert Whittaker's suggested Five Kingdom Concept stands out and is commonly used.