Kingdom: EubacteriaOrganisms in the Eubacteria kingdom are unicellular prokaryotes. Prokaryotes do not have a membrane bound nucleus or membrane bound organelles. Eubacteria are found in almost every environment on Earth.

The cell wall of Eubacteria contain the chemical peptidoglycan. Peptidoglycan is the

rigid, but flexible, macromolecule that surrounds and protects individual bacterial cells. Some Eubacteria remain independent as single cells, others group into colonies.

Eubacteria reproduce by binary fission. This can occur without the exchange of genes (asexually) or after the exchange of genes through conjugation (sexually). Some Eubacteria are autotrophic, making their own food, and others are heterotrophic, taking in nutrients from their environment. Some Eubacteria can be pathogenic, causing diseases like Strep Throat & Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but others can be very beneficial. Lactobacillus is a eubacteria used to help make foods like cheese and yogurts. Lactobacillus can also be found living in the human digestive system. Eubacteria are also very important in the environment as they decompose (break down) organic matter and help cycle nutrients in ecosystems.

Kingdom: ArchaebacteriaOrganisms in the Archaebacteria kingdom are unicellular prokaryotes. They do not have a membrane bound nucleus or membrane bound organelles in their single celled bodies. Archaebacteria are similar to Eubacteria in size and shape. Archaebacterial also have cell walls, but their cell walls do not contain peptidoglycan.

Like Eubacteria, Archaebacteria reproduce via binary fission. They can be autotrophic (making their own food) or heterotrophic (obtaining food from their environment). Some Archaebacteria can live in extreme environments such as hot springs or very cold polar seas (thermophiles), extremely acidic environments (acidiphiles), and extremely salty environments (halophiles). Some even thrive in deep sea volcanic vents (thermoacidiphiles).

Kingdom: Protista

Arctic Antarctic

Protists are not animals, plants or fungi because they do not have all the necessary characteristics to be classified into any of these kingdoms.

Kingdom Protista was created to include this diverse group of more than 200,000 organisms. They do not have much in common with each other except that they are relatively simple eukaryotes. They all have a membrane bound

nucleus and membrane bound organelles. They can be unicellular or multicellular but do not reach the tissue level of organization. While most protest do not, some of the plant-like and fungi-like protest do have cell walls.

Protists include organisms such as algae (plant-like), amoeba (animal-like), slime molds (fungi-like) & euglena (both plant-like & animal-like). Protists live in almost any environment that contains liquid water. Some protists, such as algae, are photosynthetic autotrophs. This means they use

sunlight to produce their own food. Other protists are heterotrophs, obtaining nutrients from their environments. Amoebae engulf, or take other cells into their membrane. This process is a type of endocytosis called phagocytosis. Most protist reproduce asexually but others engage in a form of sexual reproduction.

Kingdom: FungiFungi are a large group of eukaryotic organisms that include yeasts, molds and mushrooms. Most members of Kingdom Fungi are multicellular (mushrooms). Some fungi, like yeast, are unicellular. Fungal cells have cell walls made of chitin, a polysaccharide.

Fungi are heterotrophs; they take in nutrients by absorbing them for their environment. They do this

in one of three ways. They can be decomposers; eating dead organisms or they can absorb nutrients for another (host) organism. Sometimes the other organism is harmed (parasitism) and sometimes the host remains unharmed (commensalism). Fungi can be either harmful or helpful. They can quickly spread and actually kill other organisms, but they are also a source of compounds used as medicine.

Fungi reproduction is complex. Many fungi reproduce both asexually and sexually at different stages in their life cycles. Fungal reproduction often involves the production and dispersal of spores.

Kingdom: Plantae

Organisms from the Kingdom Plantae are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms. Plants have characteristics that make them different from other eukaryotic organisms. One of the main differences is that they are almost all exclusively autotrophic, meaning they make their own food.

They do this through a process known as photosynthesis, in which plants convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into sugar and oxygen. Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast of a plant cell. Plants, , plant-like bacteria and fungi, have rigid cell walls. Plants, however, have cell walls made of cellulose.

Over time, plant adaptations have resulted in a diversity of plant characteristics. These characteristics are used to classify all plants in the kingdom. The Kingdom Plantae is divided into 11 phyla (phylum).

Plants reproduce sexually with pollen and eggs. Plant sexual reproduction can be assisted by animals, as is the

case with flowers and honeybees. As the bees go from flower to flower collecting nectar, they carry pollen, plant sex cells, with them and pollinate other plants. Pollination is the first step in plant sexual reproduction.

Kingdom: AnimaliaAnimals are a group of multicellular eukaryotic organisms. The word animal comes from the Latin word animalis, meaning “having breath.” Animals are different from other eukaryotes in a number of ways.

First, animal cells lack a rigid cell wall. Instead, animal cells are surrounded only by a cell membrane. Second, animals are heterotrophic, meaning that they must ingest other organisms in order to survive. Third, all animals are motile, or able to move, at least during one stage of their life cycle. The evolution of nerve and muscle tissues enables animals to move in ways that are more complex and faster than other organisms.

Nearly all animals undergo some form of sexual reproduction, where specialized sex cells form and fuse together to form zygotes, which develop into individuals. Some animals are also capable of asexual reproduction, through budding or forms of cloning. During embryonic development, animal cells become tissue layers which become organs and systems.