Kingdom Animalia, Plantae And Viruses

All living organisms are classified into five kingdoms:

• Monera
• Protista
• Fungi
• Plantae
• Animalia

In this section, let discuss in brief about kingdom Animalia, Plantae, and Viruses.

Also Read: Kingdom Monera, Protista, Fungi

Kingdom Animalia

• Kingdom Animalia includes all the multicellular, eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms.
• These animals cannot prepare their own food and hence depend on other organisms for nourishment.
• The organisms belonging to kingdom Animalia lack cell walls.
• About 800,000 different species and 36 separate phyla have been identified under kingdom Animalia.
• They exhibit all the levels of organization in structure i.e. they range from primitive organization to the organ system level of organization
• They reproduce sexually as well as asexually.
• They also have the ability to regrow the missing parts. This process is known as regeneration.
• Few animals ingest their food and digest it in an internal cavity.
• Most animals possess the ability to move from one place to another. These are known as motile animals. The animals that cannot move are known as sessile.

Kingdom Plantae

• Kingdom Plantae includes all the eukaryotic, multicellular plants, that perform photosynthesis to prepare their food.
• Plants have rigid cell walls made of cellulose and pectin.
• They possess organelles like chloroplast and chlorophyll that facilitate photosynthesis.
• These are non-motile.
• They can reproduce sexually as well as asexually.
• Few plants such as pitcher plant cannot prepare their own food and feed on insects to derive nutrition.
• They are beneficial to maintain ecological balance. A reduction in the number of plants has resulted in global warming.
• The members of kingdom Plantae have a unique life cycle which follows alternation of generation between two phases – diploid sporophytic phase and haploid gametophytic phase.

Viruses

• Viruses are microscopic organisms that are known to be the connecting link between living and non-living.
• These were not placed under the five-kingdom classification since they are neither living nor dead. Hence, they form their own group.
• Viruses are devoid of cells and cell organelles. Therefore, they depend upon the machinery of the host cell to replicate and synthesize proteins.
• Viruses are usually smaller than bacteria in size. The first virus to be discovered was the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) that infects the tobacco plant.
• Viruses basically consist of genetic material i.e. nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein capsule. 

Also Read: Five Kingdom Classification

For more information on kingdom Plantae, Animalia and viruses, keep visiting BYJU’S website or download BYJU’S app for further reference.