Grade

12

GENERAL BIOLOGY II
QUARTER 3 – MODULE 5

Systematics Based on
Evolutionary Relationships
 What I Need to Know
This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
identify the distinctive characteristics of a specific taxon about the other taxa. The
scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations.
The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons
are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which
you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.
After going through this module, you are expected to understand the following
competencies:
1. Explain how the structural and developmental characteristics and relatedness in
DNA sequences are uses to classify living thing (STEM_BIO_11/12IIIh-j-14)
The following are the specific objectives:
a. Describe the multiple lines of evidence used to infer evolutionary
relatedness;
b. Discuss how anatomical, developmental and relatedness in DNA sequences
are used as evidence to infer the relatedness of taxa; and
c. Explain the classification is based on evolutionary relatedness.
2. Identify the unique/distinctive characteristics of a specific taxon relative to other
taxa (STEM_BIO_11/12IIIh-j-15)
The following are the specific objectives:
a. Describe the Linnean system of classification;
b. Classify organisms into a hierarchy; and
c. Construct and use dichotomous keys for identification.

What I Know
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. It is the practise of identifying different organisms, classifying them into
categories and naming them.
A. Botany C. Species
B. Domain D. Taxonomy
2. The three domains of life are the following except for one.
A. Archae C. Eukaryota

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 B. Bacteria D. Protist

2. The naming system binomial nomenclature and was invented by a brilliant

biologist named.
A. Carl Linnaeus C. Robert Hooke
B. Gregor Mendel D. Robert Koch
3. All vertebrate animals belong to one phylum called?
A. Archae C. Genus
B. Chordata D. Species
4. It is the method use to uniquely name every different organisms on earth,
living or extinct.
A. Binomial nomenclature C. Taxonomy
B. Systema Natura D. None of the above
5. The most primitive groups of organisms.
a. Kingdom Animalia C. Kingdom Plantae
b. Kingdom Monera D. Kingdom Protista
6. Which of these is not a part of five kingdom proposed by Whittaker?
A. Animalia C. Plantae
B. Mammalia D. Animalia Protista
7. The largest group into which an organism is classified is the
A. Class C. Genus
B. Domain D. Kingdom
9.Which of the following does not belong Eukaryotes?
A. Fungi C. Plantae
B. Monera D. Protista
10.What are the 8 levels of taxonomy in order?
A. Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species
B. Domain, phylum, Kingdom, class, order, family, genus, and species
C. Domain, phylum, Kingdom, order, class, genus, family, and species
D. Domain, phylum, Kingdom, class, family, order, genus, and species

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Lesson
Tree of Life and
1 Systematics

What’s In

Directions: In your own words, define the following terms.

I. Homology :
II. Molecular clock :
III. Phylogeny :
IV. Systematics:

What’s New

Directions: Answer the question, “What makes you unique and what makes you
similar to your father/mother?” Discuss this with him/her. Write in a piece of
paper the information you shared with your parent and take note of the features
(e.g. physical or genetic) that makes you and your parent unique and similar to
each other.

What is It

Systematics is the study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and of any
and all relationships among them. Tracing phylogeny is one of the goals of
systematics; hence, it is considered as the study of biological diversity in an
evolutionary context. Systematists use data ranging from fossils to molecules and
genes to infer evolutionary relationships. These information enable biologists to
construct a comprehensive tree of life that will continue to be refined as additional
data are collected.

As the understanding of the molecular bases of life progresses,the molecular

criteria replace the classical phenotypic criteria in modern systematics in which
molecular sequences expose underlying evolutionary relationships.Because of

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this,Carl Woese and his colleague published a paper in 1990 suggesting that there
must be a higher taxon or clade than the existing kingdoms,which he called
domains. These are the domain archae,bacteria,and the eucarya.He separated the
kingdom Monera into two domains,the archea and the bacteria because they differ
at the molecular level although they are both prokaryotes at the cellular level.Then
he placed all the reamining eukaryotes into the domain eucarya.Fig24.4 shows the
three domains as proposed by Woose et al.(1990),organized into the universal
phylogenetic tree.This reconstruction of the systematic classification is partly due
to the rRNA genes,which are suitable for establishing phylogeny because these
genes are highly conserved across all members in a clade.

Figure 1. The universal phylogenetic tree is showing the three domains as proposed by Woese st.al.,
1990 (Image adopted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetic_tree)

Lines of evidence to infer evolutionary relationships:

1. Fossil evidence

2. Homologies - Similar characters due to relatedness are known as homologies.

Homologies can be revealed by comparing the anatomies of different living things,
looking at cellular similarities and differences, studying embryological development,
and studying vestigial structures within individual organisms.

Developmental biology- Studying the embryological development of living things

provides clues to the evolution of present-day organisms. During some stages of
development, organisms exhibit ancestral features in whole or incomplete form.

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3. Biogeography- the geographic distribution of species in time and space as
influenced by many factors, including Continental Drift and log distance dispersal.

4. Molecular clocks help track evolutionary time- The base sequences of some
regions of DNA change at a rate consistent enough to allow dating of episodes in
past evolution. Other genes change in a less predictable way.

5. Biologists use phylogenetic trees for many purposes, including:

I. Testing hypotheses about evolution

II. Learning about the characteristics of extinct species and ancestral lineages

III. Classifying organisms

The connection between classification and phylogeny is that hierarchical

classification is reflected in the progressively finer branching of phylogenetic trees.
The branching patterns in some cases match the hierarchical classification of
groups nested within more inclusive groups. In other situations, however, certain
similarities among organisms may lead taxonomists to place a species within a
group of organisms (for example genus or family) other than the group to which it
is closely related. If systematists conclude that such mistake has occurred, the
organism may be reclassified (that is placed in a different genus or family) to
accurately reflect its evolutionary history.

Figure 2. The Connection between Classifification and Phylogeny.

Hierarchical classification can reflect the branching patterns of phylogenetic trees. This tree traces
possible evolutionary relationships between some of the taxa within order Carnivora, itself a branch of
class Mammalia. The branch point (1) represents the most recent common ancestor of all members of the

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weasel (Mustelidae) and dog (Canidae) families. The branch point (2) represents the most recent common
ancestor of coyotes and gray wolves.

What’s More

Direction: Construction of 3D models of the Tree of Life

I. Objective: This 3-D model will help learners understand that all organisms
evolved from 3 lineages: Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya.
II. Procedure:The task is to create a 3-D model of a branch of the Tree of Life and
tell multiple lines of evidence that converge to tell the story of Mammalia as a
branch in the big Tree of Life.
 Systematics is the study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and of any and

What I Have Learned

all relationships among them.

 Lines of evidence to infer evolutionary relationships: Fossil evidence,
Homologies, Biogeography, Molecular clocks.

What I Can Do

Inquiry and Research Project

Case Presentation: Applying Phylogenies
Why do biologists care about phylogenies?
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Lesson
2 Taxonomy
Billions of different species existed on the Earth’s surface including those
that became extinct. Biologists develop a way of organizing these biological entities
into groups and categories according to their shared characteristics. This is
classification. Grouping organisms enable biologists to lessen their difficulty in
studying these different organisms.

What’s In

Direction: In your own words, define the following terms.

I. classification
II. description
III. hierarchy
IV. identification
V. nomenclature
VI. taxonomy

What’s New

TRUE OR FALSE

Direction: Identify the following. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE
if the statement is in correct.

1. All prokaryotes belong to Kingdom Monera.

2. Eukaryotes belongs to five kingdoms.
3. Kingdom Fungi is a group of unicellular prokaryotic organisms related to plants.
4. Monera are considered as the most primitive group of organisms.
5. Kingdom Protista are mostly unicellular eukaryotes, characteristically like
plants and animals.

What is It

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Taxonomy
Branch of biology that deals with the classification and naming of
organisms. Scientists group organisms on their characteristics that provides clues
its evolutionary relatedness among species. The first to classify organisms was
Aristotle (Greece,384-322BC) in which he clustered organisms into two major
groups, the plants and animals.
A Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707_1778), the father of taxonomy,
developed the system of classification and naming the biologists use today. He
categorized organisms into a series of taxa (singular: taxon) where related
organisms are placed. Then he hierarchically placed each taxon by the degree of
relatedness from the broadest to the smallest most distinct groups. In his
classification system, there were about five levels but was later improved to become
more reliable. The kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species are
the seven levels that comprised the hierarchy of classification to date. Nevertheless,
some modifications made depended on the categorized species. In plants, the
kingdom divides into division instead of phyla. In bacteria, species categorize
further into strains. In general, the Kingdom is the broadest taxon, classifying
organisms according to the type of cells and method of obtaining nutrients. The
kingdom divides into phylum (plural: phyla), which further divides into class. The
next level of the taxon class is the order followed by family. Families divide again
into genus, then finally into species.

Five Kingdom Classification

Robert H. Whittaker proposed this classification scheme in 1969, later
adopted by most biologists until today. In his five-kingdom classification, he
designated all prokaryotes into one kingdom called Monera, and all eukaryotes
divided into four kingdoms, namely, Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia.
Although this system of classification seems to be more accurate than the two-
kingdom classification scheme, placing of organisms into a particular group
changes over time. As biologist gain new information about an organism, they
propose rearrangement and changes in the classification,0 specifically at the
species-level.

THE KINGDOM MONERA

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 All organisms of this kingdom are prokaryotes. Complexuctute was the basis
of classification of organisms, many centuries ago. According to R.H Whittaker’s
five kingdom classification all the bacteria were placed under the kingdom Monera.
Monera are considered as the most primitive group of organisms. They include
various types of bacteria and blue green algae. Monerans are most abundant of all
organisms, due to their versatility of their habitat. It is estimated that a single drop
of water contains 50 billion bacteria.

Characteristics
 They are all primitive organisms.

 All organisms of the kingdom are prokaryotes.

 They are present in both living and non-living environment.

 They can survive in harsh and extreme climatic conditions like in hot springs,

acidic soils etc.

 They are unicellular organisms.

 Membrane bound nucleus is absent.

 DNA is in double stranded form, suspended in the cytoplasm of the organism,

referred as nucleoid.

 A rigid wall is present.

 Membrane bind cellular organelles like mitochondria are absent.

KINGDOM PROTISTA

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 All single celled organisms are placed under the Kingdom Protista. The term
Protista was first used by Ernst Haeckel in the year 1886.This kingdom forms a
link between other kingdoms of plants, animals, and fungi.
Characteristics
 They are simple eukaryotic organisms.
 Most of the organisms are unicellular, some are colonial, and some are
multicellular like algae.
 Most of the protists live in water, some in moist soil or even the body human and
plants.
 These organisms are eukaryotic, since they have a membrane bound nucleus and
endomembrane systems.
 They have mitochondria for cellular respiration, and some have chloroplasts for
photosynthesis.
 Nuclei of protists contain multiple DNA strands; the number of nucleotides is
significantly less than complex eukaryotes.
 Protists are multicellular organisms, they are not a plant, animal, or fungus.
 Protists are major component of plankton.
 Some protists are pathogens of both animals and plants.
Example: Plasmodium falciparum causes malaria in humans

KINGDOM FUNGI
It is a group of multicellular eukaryotic organisms closely related to plants.
Non-photosynthetic, they obtain their nutrients from dead and decaying organic
matter and even diseased bodies of living organisms. Like plants, they also have a
cell wall with chitin as the principal component. They are mostly decomposers that
nourish themselves through absorption, unlike animals that feed by ingestion.
Characteristics

 Fungi are eukaryotic, non-vascular, non-motile and heterotrophic organisms.

 They may be unicellular or filamentous.

 They reproduce by means of spores. Fungi exhibit the phenomenon of alternation of

generation.

 Fungi lack chlorophyll and hence cannot perform photosynthesis.

 Fungi store their food in the form of starch.

 Biosynthesis of chitin occurs in fungi. The nuclei of the fungi are very small.

 The fungi have no embryonic stage.

 They develop from the spores.

 The mode of reproduction is sexual or asexual.

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KINGDOM PLANTAE
Multicellular eukaryotes known to evolve from photosynthetic protists. This
comprises all plants that are characteristically non-motile, photosynthetic, and be
able to synthesize their complex organic molecules(autotrophs). They have a cell
wall made up of cellulose. Some examples are fruits bearings trees (e.g., mango and
guava) and ornamentals (e.g., orchids and roses)

 They are multicellular organisms with walled and frequently vacuolate

eukaryotic cells.
 These contain photosynthetic pigment in plastids. The principal mode of
nutrition is photosynthesis.
 They are primarily non-motile and live anchored to a substrate.
 Reproduction is primarily asexual or sexual. The reproductive organs are
multicellular. They form a multicellular embryo during development from the
zygote. Algae lack the embryo stage.
 The life cycle consists of alternating haploid gametophyte and diploid
sporophyte generation. This phenomenon is called the alternation of
generation. 

KINGDOM ANIMALIA
The most complex of all kingdoms regarding structure and function. They are
multicellular, cell wall-less eukaryotes that feed differently depending on the
species, either by ingestion, absorption, filtration, among others(heterotrophs).They
are motile, although small groups of this kingdom are sedentary or stationary in
their adult form. Reproductive strategy varies from species to another, but mostly
sexual means. Examples are birds, mammals, and fishes.
Characteristics
 They are multicellular organisms which do not possess chlorophyll.
 They are eukaryotic organisms.
 Cell wall is absent.
 Mode of nutrition is heterotrophic i.e. they depend on other organisms for food.
 They have muscle cells due to which they have the capability to contract and relax the body
parts.
 Reproduction is sexual. However, asexual reproduction is also found in lower forms.
 During development, multicellular embryo is formed from the zygote.
 They require oxygen for aerobic respiration.

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BINOMIAL SYSTEM OF NOMENCLATURE
The scientific name is a way to address properly the identity crisis of
organisms. The need to a scientific name is to provide a universal means of
distinguishing one organism from another. An organism may have different names
based on the locality that varies from one provide to another or one country from
the other. For example, a house lizard or the common house gecko is ‘lupisak” in
Pampanga, while it is “butiki” in other provinces, although both are from the same
species, the Hemidactylus frenatus. Another example is the medicinal mushroom
called “reishi” in Japan and “lingshi” in China-both country uses a different name
for the sample species Ganoderma lucidum.
The binomial system of nomenclature uses two names derived from different
sources-geographical location of species, a person, or characteristics it possesses.
This naming system writes the first letter of the first name in the capital while the
rest, including all the letters of the second name are in lowercase. In case a
scientific name is handwritten, this system either underline both names (e.g., onion
as Allium cepa) or written in the italic form (e.g., mice as Mus musculus)

Basis of Scientific Names

Of all the languages available, the construction of scientific names uses Latin
in most cases although sometimes Greek is used. Both Latin and Greek names
describe the species characteristics, for example, Homo sapiens are Latin words in
which the name sapiens specifically means “wise” and Homo means “human.”
Scientific names can also commemorate a person (e.g., Draco Rizal, a flying lizard,
named in honor of Dr. Jose Rizal). Another way of constructing scientific names is
a geographical location (e.g., Archboldomys luzonensis, Musser, 1982, the Mount
Isarog shrewmouse, is endemic to Luzon, the Philippines specifically in Mt. Isarog).
There are also scientific names derived from an anagram or rearrangement of
existing names such as Alium cepa, where Allium derives from the name reversal of
the genus Muilla.

Elements of Scientific Name

1. Genus name – the first name in the scientific name (e.g., Hemidactylus)
2. Specific epithet – the second name in the scientific name (e.G. frenatus)
3. Authority – the name of the authorities such as the discover or the person who
published the species description. This is written after two names followed by
the date of publication (e.q. Hemidactylus frenatus, Schlegel, 1836)

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 What’s More

Directions: Complete the following table for the taxonomic classification of human beings.
Taxon Man’s Rank Characteristics of organisms belonging to the taxon

Domain

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

Subspecies

________________8. The taxonomic level to which the name Homo in man’s scientific
name belongs.

________________9. The taxonomic level to which the name elegans in the worm’s
name C. elegans belong.

_______________10. The taxonomic level to which man and malunggay belong.

Assessment

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. Which of the following about Systema Naturae is incorrect?
A. It contained three kingdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species.
B. Carl Linnaeus developed the system of hierarchical categories.
C. Method used to uniquely name every different organism on earth.
D. This system uses for classifying organisms and have since separated all of
life into more than two kingdoms.
2. R.H Whittaker’s classified all the bacteria were placed under the Kingdom of?
A. Fungi C. Fungi

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 B. Monera D. Plantae
3. It is a scientific way to address properly the identity crisis of organisms.
A. Binomial system of nomenclature C. Scientific name
B. Genus name D. Specific epithet
4. A system of organizing groups into ranks according to status, putting groups at
various levels according to importance or power.
A. Classification C. Identification
B. Description D. Hierarchy
5. Method of grouping organisms; arranging entities into some type of order to
provide a system for cataloguing and expressing relationships between these
entities.
A. Classification C. Identification
B. Description D. Hierarchy
6. They reproduce by means of spores.
A. Animalia C. Monera
B. Fungi D. Plantae
7. The most complex of all kingdoms regarding structure and function.
A. Animalia C. Plantae
B. Monera D. Protista
8. Considering binomial nomenclature, the parts of scientific name are?
A. Genus and class C. Genus and species
B. Genus and kingdom D. Genus and phylum
9. In the binomial nomenclature, the second represents.
A. Class C. Order
B. Kingdom D. Species
10. They are primitive and all organisms of the kingdom is prokaryotes. They are
present both in living and non-living pertains to characteristics of_________.
A. Animalia C. Plantae
B. Monera D. Protista

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 Additional Activities

Directions: Create your own simple hierarchical system of classification by

assigning ranks to groups created. You may create a label for the ranks. A flow
chart may be constructed.

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