GENERAL CHARACTERS

1. Size varies form microscopic to very large
2. belong to Eukaryotic cellular organization
3. generally immotile
4. cell wall made up of chitin
5. some are unicellular and some are non specialized multicellular
6. uni nucleated / multi nucleated
7. all are heterotrophic
8. lack chlorophyll
9. storage food – Glycogen
10. mitosis occur within the nucleus
11. show sexual and asexual reproduction
12. spores and gametes of some possess flagella
13. they are the major decomposers found in the environment
14. some act as pathogenic parasites
15. Habitat: Water, Terrestrial

 

NOTE –

• Chitin is a polysaccharide which contains Nitrogen
• Show fibrous structure similar to that of cellulose
• Provides rigidity to the cell wall
  • Thus provides shape for the fungi and prevent the cell from rupturing due to the osmotic changes.

Phylum – Chytridiomycota	Phylum –  Zygomycota	Phylum –  Ascomycota	Phylum – Basidiomycota
Aquatic, flagellated fungi, dichotomously branched  hyphae	Branched, coenocytic and aseptate mycelium	Branched, multinucleated and septate mycelium	Branched, monokaryotic or dikaryotic and septate mycelium
Asexual reproduction by flagellated zoospores.	Asexual reproduction by spores within sporangium	Asexual reproduction by conidia	Asexual reproduction by various spores
Sexual reproduction by motile male and female gametes	zygosporangium is produced in sexual reproduction	Sexual reproduction by ascospores	Sexual reproduction by basidiospores
Allomyces	Mucor	Aspergillus	Agaricus

1. Phylum Chytridiomtcota

• Group of ancestral fungi
• Archegonia and Antheridia produce female and male gametes respectively.
• Allomyces shows alternation of Generation

 

2. Phylum Zygomycota

• Have many nuclei
• Sexual reproduction occur in rare
• Specialized gametes are not produced in sexual reproduction
• Mucor;
  • formed of branched fungal filaments
  • Saprotrophic organism which could be seen in bread, coconut etc.

 

3. Phylum Ascomycota

• Macrosporangium absent
• During sexual reproduction, eight ascospores form within each ascocarp
• Aspergillus –
  • Saprotrophic fungi
  • Green / greenish blue in colour
  • Secrete several types of enzymes
• Saccharomyces –
  • unicellular egg shaped fungi
  • generally known as yeast
  • form chain like colonies by budding (asexual mode of reproduction)
  • used in industrial manufacture of alcohol
  • relation to oxygen – facultative anaerobic respiration (survive in the presence or absence of oxygen)
  • it is a saprotroph which produces alcohol with the release of carbon dioxide by fermentation (anaerobic respiration)

Conidia – Exogenous asexual spore

 

4. Phylum Basidiomycota

• Agaricus
  • Saprotrophic organism which generally lay underground
  • Produce basidiocarp which grow above the ground level and produce umbrella like structure during sexual reproduction
  • Asexual spores are produced by fragmentation

 

Differences between a typical Bacteria and a typical Fungi

Characters	Typical Bacteria	Typical Fungi
Cellular organization	Prokaryotic	Eukaryotic
Cell wall component	Peptidoglycan	Chitin
Ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen	Present	Absent
Mode of nutrition	Heterotrophic	All are heterotrophic
	Autotrophic
Flagella	Present.	Present.
	Made up of single protein filament	Shows 9+2 arrangement
Cell arrangement	All are unicellular	Unicellular
		Unspecialized multicellular

 

 

Similarities between a typical Bacteria and a typical Fungi

• Show absorptive mode of nutrition
• Have the ability to produce antibiotics
• Show sexual and asexual (spores) reproduction
• Decomposers
• Secrete extracellular enzymes

 

                                    

 

• இறால் , நண்டு

Phylum Bryophyta

• Especially common in moist terrestrial  places
• No vascular tissue
• Gametophytes are dominant & photosynthetic
• Homosporous
• External water is necessary for fertilization
• Seed less plants
• Do not bear flowers
• e.g; Marchantia, Mosses- Pogonatum

Bryophytes are called amphibians of the plant kingdom because these plants though live in soil but they need water for sexual reproduction.

• • The sperm of bryophyte (antherozoids) are flagellate and need water to swim to the eggs.
  • None of the bryophytes are found in aquatic environment
  • Have a special type of conducting system
  • Sporophytes are parasites which totally depend on gametophyte
  • Produce biflagellated spermatozoid
  • Show heteromorphic alternation of generaion

   

  • Marchantia
  • Flattened shape
  • Grow parallel to the earth surface
  • Yellowish green colour
  • Thallus structure formed dorso – ventral
  • Possess hexagonal arrangement on the dorsal surface
  • In the middle of each hexagon there exist microscopic aero pores
  • Known as liverworts
  • Mid rib is found in the thallus
  • Several gemma which involve in the asexual reproduction are found on the surface of thallus
  • Rhizoids are found on the ventral surface
  • Unisexual , dioecious
  • In the tip of the thallus archegonia and antheridia could be seen which are attached to the thallus by stalk

   

  • Poganatum
  • Found in shady moist surface
  • Possess pseudo leaf, pseudo stem and rhizoid
  • Grow perpendicular to the earth surface
  • Microscopic
  • Greenish colour
  • Unisexual, dioecious

   

  Features of Bryophyte which make it unsuitable for terrestrial environment

  • Cuticle absent
  • Do not possess true root system and well developed conducting system (xylem and phloem)
  • Supporting tissues are not developed
  • External water is necessary for fertilization

Phylum Lycophyta

• Common in moist terrestrial places
• Vascular tissues are present
• Homosporous or heterosporous
• External water is necessary for fertilization
• Seed less plants
• Do  not  bear flowers
• Sporophytes are dominant & gametophytes partially depend on sporophytes
•  None of them are aquatic
• Sporophyte – bisexual, monocious
• Biflagellate sperms
• Sporangium are attached to the upper surface of the sporophyll
• e.g; Sellaginella, Lycopodium   

 

Selaginella

• Also known as club mosses
• Spreads on the surface of the earth
• Possess true leaves, true stem and true root
• Dichotomously arranged stem from which the roots originate
• Small and large leaves are arranged in an order in the stem
• Female gametophyte has the ability to perform photosynthesis
• Heterosporous

 

Lycopodium

• Terrestrial plant
• Some exist as epiphytes
• Herbaceous plant which is highly branched
• Have aerial leaves and adventitious roots
• Branches are fully covered by tiny leaves
• homosporous

Phylum Pterophyta

• Terrestrial Life adaptations are found
• Vascular tissues are present
• Sporophytes are dominant
• Both sporophyte and gametophyte are photosynthetic
• Homosporous
• External water is necessary for fertilization
• Seed less plants
• Do   not   bear  flowers
• Known as ferns
• Some of the species grow in fresh water and shady regions
• Gametophyte – bisexual, monocious. Heart shaped. Known as prothallus
• Multi flagellate sperms

 

Nephrolepis

• Terrestrial plant which is normally grown by human in vases as ornamental plant
• Stem is underground rhizome
• Brown coloured patches are found in the tender leaves
• Leaves are double fronds and tightly curled so that the tendergrowing tip of the frond is protected within a coil
• Sori found in the bottom edge of the leaves and they are covered by Indusium
• Sporangium are found into the sori

 

Terrestrial life adaptation of Phylum Pterophyta

• Highly developed vegetative body
• Dominant sporophyte
• Developed vascular tissues
• Development of tissues which provide mechanical support to the plant
• Cuticle found
• Well-developed root system
• Development of underground stem and rhizome
• Compound leaves
• Sexual reproductive structures are surrounded by fragile layer of cells

Coelenterata (Cnidaria)	Platyhelminthes	Nematoda	Annelida	Mollusca	Arthropoda	Echinodermata
Marine or freshwater	Free-living forms inhabit water or moist soil, parasites inside the host body	Found in soil, water and as parasites.	Found in marine, freshwater or on/in soil	Mostly marine or freshwater,  Some terrestrial	Terrestrial or aquatic	Exclusively marine
Radial symmetry	Bilateral symmetry					Adults: penta radial symmetry Larvae :bilateral symmetry
Diploblastic	Triploblastic
Mesoglea present between two germ layers	No body cavity	Pseudocoelom present	Well developed coelom	Haemocoel (Coelom reduced)	Haemocoel (Coelom greatly reduced )	Large coelom. A part is developed as water vascular system with associated tube feet
Two types of body form-tube like polyp, umbrella like medusa No segmentation	Dorsoventrally flattened body. No segmentation	Slender,cylindrical tapered end body. No segmentation	Cylindrical worm like body internal and external segmentation	A little trace of segmentation Different types of body forms	Externally segmented body. Each segment typically bears a pair of  jointed appendages.	Cylindrical or star or flower like form.  No segmentation
Cephalization absent	Shows some degree of cephalization	Shows some degree of cephalization	Shows cephalization	Clear cephalization. Body is divided into head, muscular  foot, visceral mass	Distinct cephalization, parts of body; generally divided into head, thorax & abdomen	No cephalization Body is arranged in oral aboral axis
Nematocysts present in cell layer. No cuticle	Epidermis soft and ciliated or covered by cuticle and with external suckers or hooks or both	Tough cuticle is present	Definite cuticle and chetae of chitin Body  covering  is soft and it forms a mantle		Exoskeleton of chitin secreted by epidermis	Body covered by delicate epidermis often with spines
Corals posses limy or horny Exoskeleton	No skeleton	Hydrostatic skeleton of pseudocoelomic fluid	Hydrostatic skeleton of coelomic fluid	Many have Exoskeleton, In some endoskeleton	exoskeleton	endoskeleton
		Lacks cilia at any stage			Lacks cilia at any stage
Gastro vascular cavity	Incomplete alimentary canal. Only mouth no anus	Complete Alimentary canal having mouth & anus				Complete alimentary tract in some. Some lack anus
				Radulla present in some	Mouth parts present
No circulatory system			Closed circulatory system with lateral hearts	Open circulatory system with dorsal heart		Reduced circulatory system
No respiratory organs			Some have external gills	Gills or ctenidia in the mantle cavity for respiration. Land forms respire through mantle	Gills or book lungs or trachea as respiratory structures	Gills or papillae or tube feet or cloacal respiratory tree as respiratory structure
No excretory system	Simple excretory system with flame cells & ducts	Simple excretory system with longitudinal canals	Excretory structures: nephridia		Green gland or malphigian tubules	No excretory system
Nerve net	A pair of anterior ganglia or a nerve ring with  longitudinal nerve cords (1-3)	Nerve ring with longitudinal nerve cords	One pair of cerebral ganglia & double, solid, mid ventral nerve cord	Nerve ring with  pairs of ganglia & 2 pairs of nerve cords	Paired dorsal cerebral ganglia & double ventral solid nerve cord	Nervous system with nerve rings  and radial  nerves
Some with eyespots and/or statocysts as sensory structures	Free living forms have eyespots & chemoreceptors	Mainly papillae	Simple eyes. tentacles and palps in some	Sensory Organs Tentacles, Some have eyes,eyespots and statocysts	Antennae, statocysts sensory hairs simple and compound eyes	Most do not have sensory organs. Some have  tactile tube feet  eye spots & sensitive  tentacles
Simple gonads without ducts	Gonads, gonadal ducts, accessory organs present	Gonads with ducts	Gonads and ducts	Gonads & ducts	Gonads & ducts	Large gonads with ducts
Asexual reproduction by budding or regeneration	Asexual reproduction in some forms by fragmentation	No asexual reproduction or regeneration	In some by budding or regeneration		In some regeneration	In some regeneration
Unisexual/ bisexual	Usually bisexual	Unisexual	Unisexual or bisexual	Usually unisexual	Unisexual  By parthen ogenesis in some insects and crustaceans	Unisexual
External fertilization	Internal fertilization	Internal fertilization	External  or internal fertilization	External or internal	Mostly internal	External fertilization
Planula larva	Many larval Stages in parasites.Free living forms have no larval stages	Larval Stage in some	Trochophore larva	Trochophore or veliger larva	One or more larval stages	Bipinnaria or dipleurula larva

Seed is a structure which consists of embryo, stored food and covered by seed coat to protect itself from mechanical injury, infectious attacks and desiccation

Spermatophyta

• Sporophyte generation dominant and free living
• Gametophyte recessive and short lived. Depends on the sporophyte
• Heterosporous (two types) – micro spore (pollen) and mega spore (embryo sac)
• Different types of leaves (two types) – microsporophyll and megasporophyll
• Development of complex vascular tissues in leaves, stem and root
• External water is not necessary for fertilization (development of the pollen tube)
• Fertilized ovule / mega sporangium become seed
• Produce pollen
• Pollination before fertilization
• Nucleus of male gametes does not swim. Travel through pollen tube
• Two types;
  • Gymnosperms (naked seed)
  • Angiospermophyta

 

Differences between Gymnosperms and angiospermophyta

Characters	Gymnosperms	Angiospermophyta
Ovule	Appear to the external environment	Do not appear
		Covered by ovary
	Not covered by ovary
Fruit	Does not form	Forms
Strobilus / flower	Strobilus form. Flower does not	Flower form
Leaves	Always green	Normally green
		Yellow / brownish orange at maturity
Sexual character	Unisexual	Unisexual / bisexual
	Dioecious	Dioecious / monocious
Example	Cycadophyta	Anthophyta
	Coniferophyta

 

Phylum Cycadophyta

• Terrestrial Life adaptations are found
• Vascular tissues are present
• Sporophytes are dominant and photosynthetic  Gametophytes depend on Sporophytes
• Heterosporous
• For fertilization external water is not essential
• Internal water is necessary for fertilization
• Seed bearing plants
• Naked seed plants
• Do   not   bear  flowers
• Sperm possess numerous cilia
• Cones are produced by male cycadophyta
• e.g; Cycas

Cycas

• Only one type of cycadophyta which is endermic to Srilanka
• Stem – elongated, cylindrical, straight, rod like.
• Tap root system exist
• Coralloid roots are produced by the lateral roots
• Unisexual
• Dioecious
• Only few are branched
• Greenish leaves on the top of the stem
• Male plant possess cones which consist microspores in the interior
• Female plant possess crown like mega sporophyll

Phylum Coniferophyta

• Terrestrial Life adaptations are found
• Vascular tissues are present
• Sporophytes are dominant and photosynthetic  Gametophytes depend on Sporophytes
• Heterosporous
• For fertilization external water is not essential
• Seed bearing plants
• Naked seed plants
• Do not bear  flowers
• Non motile male gamete
• Both male and female plants produce cones/ conifers

World’s biggest tree (Giant Sequoia) belongs to the phylum Coniferophyta

 

Pinus

• Tall and cone shaped tree
• Elongated needle like evergreen leaves
• Deciduous
• Economically important products are obtained
• Ornamental plants in cold regions
• Unisexual
• Dioecious
• pollen tube forms at fertilization

• e.g; Pinus

Vascular Plants / Tracheophyta

• Well-developed vascular tissues
• Sporophyte dominant.
• Gametophyte recessive and short-lived. Most of them depend on sporophytes
• Specialized as true leaves, true stem and true root
• Most of them show terrestrial life adaptations
• Vegetative body is highly developed
• Development of tissues which provide mechanical support to the plant (lignified xylem and sclerenchyma)
• Cuticle developed to prevent the parts of the plant from desiccation
• It includes all the phylum included in kingdom Plantae except phylum Bryophyte

 

Features that could not be seen in all the vascular plants

• Seeds
• Pollen tube
• Heterosporous
• External Water for fertilization
• Terrestrial life adaptions