Module 2

lecture and laboratory

Domains, Kingdoms,
and Hierarchy of
Organisms
Prepared by:
Cherry R. Lariosa
Instructor
Photo Source: https://www.dreamstime.com/herbal-botanical-background-botany-decorative-flat-lay-composition-space-text-
image119105988

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lecture, the students must be able to:

 describe the field of botany
 summarize and discuss the features of plants that distinguish them from nonliving things
Learning Objectives
After the discussion, the students must be able to:
1. Distinguish among the six kingdoms and three domains
2. Classify hierarchy and perform proper naming of organisms

Biological Diversity
The science community is still uncertain of the different kinds of existing organisms, but most biologists
estimated that there are about 5 million to 10 million species. Currently, the known plant organisms encompasses to
more than 330,000 species.
Prokaryotes lack member-bound organelles and heterotrophic organisms obtain food by consuming other
organisms.

Prokaryotes Prokaryotes Eukaryotes

Eukaryotes Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes
Unicellular Unicellular Mainly
unicellular or Multicellular Multicellular
Multicellular
Most are Most live in simple
multicellular Photosynthetic Heterotrophic
heterotrophic, extreme Heterotrophic
some are environments Nervous system
Heterotrophic Cell walls of Cell walls of
photosynthetic or coordinates
or cellulose chitin
chemosynthetic Differ in responses to
biochemistry and photosynthetic
stimuli
Coccus, Bacillus in cell wall Cactus, Absorb
structure from Differ in nutrients
succulent Frogs, Monkeys
bacteria biochemistry
and in cell wall Molds, yeasts
structure from
Staphylothermus, bacteria
Thermoproteus
Algae, water
molds

Fig 1. The three domains of life and six kingdoms Source: Berg, 2008
Plant Classification
Photo Source: Shuttershock
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Anthophyta
Class: Monocotyledones
Order: Commelinale
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Zea
Species: Zea mays:s
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Hibiscus
Species: Hibiscus moscheutos Species:Origanum vulgare
Photo Source: Emily Mccooke
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Archaea
Phylum: Crenarchaeota
Class: Thermoprotei
Order: Desulfurococcales
Family:
Desulfurococcaceae
Genus:
Staphylothermus
Species:
Staphylothermus marinus
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Origanum
Photo Source: Kok Onn Kwong
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Firmicutes
Class: Bacilli
Order: Bacillales
Family: Bacillaceae
Genus: Bacillus
Species: Bacillus subtilis
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Vanda
Species: Vanda sanderiana
Domain:Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Anthophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Aloaceae
Genus: Aloe
Species: Aloe Vera
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Aceraceae
Genus: Cocos
Species: Cocos nucifera
Provide photo or draw the five common plants in your area. Classify each using proper taxonomy procedure on the
boxes provided above.

Classification
The orderly arrangement of organisms into groups.

Identification
The practical use of classification criteria to distinguish certain organisms from others, to verify the authenticity or
utility of a strain or a particular reaction, or to isolate and identify the organism that causes a disease.

Nomenclature
The means by which the characteristics of a species are defined and communicated among biologists.

Taxonomy
The science of classification, identification, and nomenclature. For classification purposes, organisms are usually
organized into subspecies, species, genera, families, and higher orders.

Species
Species is a distinct organism with certain characteristic features, or a group of organisms that resemble one
another closely in the most important features of their organization. Within one species, strains and subgroups
can differ by the disease they produce, their environmental habitat, and many other characteristics. Verification of
existing species and creation of new species should involve biochemical and other phenotypic criteria as well as
DNA relatedness.

Source: Baron, 1996

Review Questions

1. Briefly describe the field of botany.

Botany is the branch of Biology that deals with the study of plants. It is the scientific study of plants where you try to
understand their anatomy, including their properties and biochemical process.
 2. Compare and contrast the characteristics and features among three domains. The video can give you
additional information.
Modern scientists classify all organisms into one of the three domains called Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. All three
domains have similar cell structures and related sequence of ribosomal RNA. Archaea and Bacteria contain prokaryotic
organisms called single-celled organisms that do not have a membrane-bound nucleus. Also, Archaea can live in extreme
environment where no other organism can survive. Bacteria can be found everywhere, in the soil, water, even inside our
bodies. Bacteria also play an important role in the processing of many in our foods. Lastly, domain Eukarya includes the
eukaryotes, or organisms that have a membrane-bound nucleus and they are much bigger than the prokaryotes. Domain
Eukarya is subdivided into four kingdoms which are the Protists, Plants, Fungi, and Animals.

3. Suppose two plants are classified in the same genus and two other plant are classified into similar class.
Which pair of plant is more similar? Explain your answer.
The pair of plants that are classified in the same genus are more similar than the pair of plants that are classified into
similar classes. Genus is composed of species which is a more defined meaning of a certain organism, on the other hand,
a class is a higher rank than a genus. One organism can be classified into a similar class but can have a different type of
genus or family.

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnDRJAt-4aM&feature=share

References:
Baron, E.J. 1996. Medical Microbiology. Fourth Edition. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8406/
Berg, L. (2008). Introduction to Botany. Plants, People, and the Environment. Second Edition. ISBN-13:
978-0-534-46669-5