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Kingdom:Eubacteria Organisms 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 and other group into colonies. Eubacteria reproduce asexually or sexually through cell division. Some eubacteria are autotrophic, making their own food, and others are heterotrophic, taking in nutrients from their environment. Eubacteria can cause various diseases, from strep throat to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but they can also be very helpful. Lactobacillus is used to help make foods like cheese and yogurt, and is also present in the human digestive system. Decomposing, or breaking down organic matter and cycling nutrients are also important functions of eubacteria. Kingdom: Archaea Organisms in the Archaebacteria kingdom are also unicellular prokaryotes. They do not have a membrane bound nucleus or organelles in their single celled bodies. Archaebacteria are similar in size and shape to eubacteria. Archaebacteria also have cell walls, but the cell walls of archaebacteria are different because they do not contain peptidoglycan. Like eubacteria, archaebacterial reproduce asexually or sexually through cell division. They can be autotrophic, making their own food, or heterotrophic, obtaining food from their environment. Some archaebacteria can live in extreme environments such as in hot springs, extremely acidic environments, polar seas, volcanoes, and even in extremely salty water. Kingdom: Protista Protists are not animals, plants, or fungi because they do not have all of the characteristics necessary to place them in 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 are either unicellular or multicellular but do not reach the tissue level of organization. Protists include organisms such as algae, amoebae, protozoans, euglena, and slime molds. Protists live in almost any environment that contains liquid water. Some protists, such as algae, are photosynthetic autotrophs. This means that they use sunlight to produce their own food. Other protists are heterotrophs, obtaining nutrients from their environment. Amoebae engulf, or take other cells into their membrane. This process is called phagocytosis. Most protists reproduce asexually, through a form of cell division. Other protists engage in a form of sexual reproduction. Kingdom: Fungi Fungi are a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes such organisms as yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. Most members of Kingdom Fungi are multicellular (ex. mushrooms). Some fungi organisms are unicellular (ex. yeast). Fungal cells have cell walls similar to bacteria, but they contain chitin instead of peptidoglycan. Fungi are heterotrophs; they take in nutrients by absorbing them from their environment. They do this in one of three ways. They can be decomposers and eat dead organisms, or they can absorb nutrients from another organism called a host. Sometimes the other organism is harmed and sometimes it remains unharmed. Fungi can be both harmful and helpful. They can quickly spread and actually kill other organisms, but they are also the 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 autotrophic, meaning they are able to 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 chloroplasts of a plant cell. Plants, like bacteria and fungi, have rigid cell walls. They are however different in that they are made from 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. Some species of plants reproduce sexually and some reproduce asexually. In asexual reproduction, such as budding, an exact copy of the parent is produced. 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: Animalia Animals 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 the rigid cell wall that plants, fungi, and algae have. 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.