1.2 describe the common features shared by organisms within the following main groups: plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, protoctists and viruses, and for each group describe examples and their features as follows (details of life cycle and economic importance are not required)

1.2

Plant Characteristics:

·         Multicellular organisms

·         Cells contain chloroplasts

·         is able to carry out photosynthesis

·         Cells contain cellulose cell walls

·         Store carbohydrates as starch or sucrose

·         Example: Flowering plant, a cereal (maize) and a legume (beans)

Animal Characteristics:

·         Multicellular organisms

·         do not contain chloroplasts

·         not able to carry out photosynthesis

·         Cells have no cell walls

·         usually have nervous coordination

·         usually are able to move from one place to another

·         Store carbohydrates as glycogen

·         Example: Mammal (human) and insect (mosquito)

Fungi:

·         Not able to carry out photosynthesis

·         Body usually organized into a mycelium made from thread-like structures called hyphae  which contain many nuclei

·         Some are unicellular

·         Cell walls made of chitin

·         Feed by extracellular secretion of disgestive enzymes onto food material and absorbsion of the organic products (saprotrophic nutrition)

·         May store carbohydrates as glycogen

·         Example: Mucor (has tyical hyphal structure multicellular) and yeast (unicellular)

Bacteria:

·         Microscopic unicellular organisms

·         Contain cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm and plasmids

·         Lack a nucleus but contain a circular chromosome of DNA

·         Some are able to carry out photosynthesis

·         Most feed off other living or dead organisms

·         Example: lactobacillus bulgaricus (used in production of yogurt) and Pneumococcus (pathogen causing pneumonia)

Protoctists:

·         Microscopic, unicellular organisms

·         Some have features more like an animal cell (Amoeba)

·         Others have chloroplast and have features more like a plant cell (Chlorella)

·         Some of them are pathogens (Plasmodium, causing Malaria)

Viruses:

·         Small particles (smaller than bacteria)

·         Parasitic

·         Can only reproduce inside living cells

·         Infect every type of living organism

·         Have a variety of shapes and sizes

·         Have not cellular structure but have a protein coating

·         Contain one type of nucleic acid RNA or DNA

·         Example: tobacco mosaic virus responsible for the discoloration of tobacco plants by prevent chloroplasts from being formed and influenza virus causing the flu