Basis of Life-Classification of Organisms

Classification of organisms is beneficial to identify the organisms among the various organisms. Taxonomy is a part of biology where the classification of organisms is done. Therefore, taxonomy can be defined as the techniques by which all organisms on Earth are classified according to biological characteristics. The word taxonomy comes from the two words; one is ‘Taxis’ meaning arrangement, and the other is ‘nomos’ meaning method. Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, first classified organisms. Classification of organisms has become very beneficial to satisfy the criteria of characteristics of different organisms. The classification is done according to the physiological characters. 

What is an organism

Organisms are an important component of the environment moreover in the ecosystem. Without organisms, ecosystems cannot be formed. In biology, organisms are defined as the individual living system composed of cells that have organised structures of different organs; take part in reproduction, give reactions against stimuli, and change characteristics accordingly to maintain and adopt homeostasis. Organisms are built up of cells; organisms can be classified according to the characteristics of the organism; as well as the organisms can also be classified according to the cellular structure. Every organism has distinct characters and physiological structures. Organisms are classified mainly according to their physiological characteristics. 

Types of Organisms

There are a wide variety of organisms in the entire ecosystem on Earth. The characteristics of the organisms are different from each other. The organism belongs mainly to two types. There are two main types of organisms, which includes the prokaryotes and the eukaryotes. Prokaryotes are the type of organism that does not have any distinct and well-defined nucleus structure and does not have any structural organelles in the cell system. The organisms belonging to prokaryotes are mainly structural bodies of one cell. The live events of the organisms are very simple. The organisms are mainly composed of the cell wall, cytoplasm and nucleus. Some prokaryotes have some cell organelles. For example, the amoeba is an organism belonging to prokaryotes. 

On the other hand, eukaryotes have a well-defined cell structure and a defined nucleus and have different organised cell organelles. Cells are structured with well-defined cell walls. The organisms are made up of a group of cells. The organisms have different organs made up of cells. The organisms have different organ systems to carry out different life events. The prokaryotes are the organisms that have a structural body, and the live events of the organisms are developed to maintain the living hood. The animals and plants are prokaryotic organisms. 

Classification of   Organisms

Classification of organisms is a technique in biology by which a wide variety of organisms are classified to identify the characters of the organisms respectively. The organism was first classified by the Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus, who has used the term taxonomy. The Swedish biologist has classified the organisms by using a hierarchy group according to the characteristics, which is as follows.

1. Domain, 2. Kingdom, 3. Phylum, 4. Class, 5. Order, 6. Family, 7. Genus, And 8. Species. 

In this hierarchy group, “Domain” is the highest positioned order or the broad category to classify the organism. According to this order, the organisms are classified into three groups: Archaea, Eubacteria, and Eukaryotes. Archaea are the organisms that mainly form the group of bacteria with strong living capacity in extreme environmental conditions. Eubacteria are organisms that are also a type of bacteria present in the daily lives of living beings. Finally, the Eukaryotes have a well-defined cell structure and comprise a group of organ systems composed of thousands of cells. All the animals and plants belong to the group Eukaryotes. 

Further, the living organisms can be classified by five kingdoms systems in the three categories of domain systems. In this system, the organisms are classified by their characteristic significance. There are five kingdoms in this group. The five kingdoms in this group include Monera, Protista, Plantae, fungi and animals. 

Kingdom of Monera: This kingdom is composed of organisms with a unicellular cell structure. For example, bacteria are the organism belonging to this kingdom. It includes the prokaryotes like bacteria and archaea. Bacteria are heterotrophic and aerobic but the archaea are generally anaerobic and have a chemosynthetic metabolism system. 

Kingdom of Protista: The organisms from this kingdom are similar to Monera’s, but the organisms have complex cell structures and contain well-defined nuclei. It is paraphyletic and contains common ancestors. Protozoa is an example of Protista and is included in eukaryotic organisms which are not supposed to be plant fungi or animals. 

Kingdom of Fungi: the organisms from this kingdom are mainly the groups of microorganisms such as moulds, mushrooms, yeast, which cannot formulate their food; they depend on other organisms. They have aerobic, heterotrophic multicellular eukaryotic sales. Their reproduction system occurs through spores.

Kingdom of Plantae: the organisms from this kingdom have a significant character of plants. The organisms in this kingdom can be the smallest plant or be a large plant. It is the immutable, oldest and multicellular eukaryote kingdom. Their existence is highly studied for Earth because they synthesise oxygen in photosynthesis reactions. Both the sexual and asexual reproduction method are noticed in this kingdom. 

Kingdom of Animalia: the organisms in this group are multicellular organisms. The cells of the organisms are composed of eukaryotic cells. They are heterotrophic, multicellular eukaryotes with sexual reproduction movement ability and aerobic respiration. This Kingdom has the highest diversity among all other kingdoms. Fish, mammals, reptiles, birds, molasses, annelids, insects and amphibians all are part of the animal kingdom. 

Conclusion 

The technique of classification is generally known as Taxonomy in biology. There are taxonomic techniques to classify entire organisms. Classification of organisms helps to identify the character of the organisms among different organisms.Every organism has distinct characters and physiological structures. Organisms are classified mainly according to their physiological characteristics. The characters of the various organisms are distinct and can be classified according to their characteristics. Therefore, it can be concluded that taxonomy is an important technique in biology to identify organisms.