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Explain the basis of grouping into Five kingdoms.

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Last updated date: 27th Mar 2024
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MVSAT 2024
Answer
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Hint: The five kingdom classification is the most widely accepted classification which is based on the cellular structure, its physiological and phylogenetic status. This was proposed in 1969.

Complete step-by-step answer:
As the name suggests the five kingdom classification involves five different kingdoms, which includes the Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia. R.H Whittaker proposed the system in 1969 on the basis of following characters:
-Complexity in the body structure of an organism: There are two types of organism present in the nature and these are the simple unicellular organism, these are the ones with single cell that execute all the functions like digestion, excretion and respiration etc, for example bacteria or amoeba while another one is multicellular organism that have different types of cells combine together to perform one specific function like nerve cell helps in transmission. Monera and Protista includes organisms that are unicellular while fungi, Plantae and Animalia have multicellular organisms.
-Complexity in the cell structure of an organism: We know that organisms are classified as prokaryotes means that lacks a well defined nucleus and cell organelles and eukaryotes that consists of a well defined nucleus in which DNA is present along with cell organelles like golgi bodies, ER etc. All four kingdoms except Monera are multicellular.
- Mode of Nutrition: Plants along with some bacteria are capable of making food by trapping sunlight and converting inorganic substances into organic substances and the process is known as photosynthesis. These organisms are known as autotrophs and are responsible for the energy requirement while the organisms that are dependent on the autotrophs for their nutrition directly (by feeding plants) or indirectly (by eating animals) are heterotrophs. Kingdom Plantae involves all plants while rest kingdoms contain heterotrophs except cyanobacteria and some protists.
-Reproduction: There are two modes of reproduction: asexual in which the organism produce a clone without the fusion of gametes and is commonly observed in lower organisms specially in kingdom Monera and Protista and the sexual reproduction is observed in most of Fungi, plants and in all animals.
-Phylogenetic Relationship: This is the relationship a species shares with its ancestors like its observed that humans are the advanced version of apes.
Other than these cell walls is also a character that can describe the division of the kingdoms.

Note:
1) Linnaeus' gave a Two Kingdom system of classification with Kingdom Plantae and Kingdom Animalia that included all plants and animals respectively.The classification of organisms into plants and animals had a major drawback, a large number of organisms did not fall into either category. Thus we see the two kingdom classification was found inadequate.
2) Haeckel’s gave a Three kingdom system of classification where he divided organisms into Animalia, Plantae, and Protista. He proposed Protista as a new kingdom to classify organisms exhibiting characters of both plants and animals, or unique to their own.
3) Copeland gave a Four kingdom classification,where the microbes were divided into two kingdoms: the bacteria and blue green algae in Kingdom Monera, and microalgae, microfungi and protozoa in kingdom Protista.