INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY

BIO-101

Evolution and Diversity of Life

Lecture 01
 Biology Definition

● Biology Comes from two Greek words:

⮚ Bios, means life and

⮚ Logos, means study

● Thus Biology is the study of life, i.e the study of living things , their environment and the
interaction between them
 Life
• Life is something that captures and • Living organisms have the capacity to do
uses energy and raw materials, this metabolism and this is a set of reactions where
energy is the capacity to do work. cells acquire and use energy to grow, survive,
reproduce and develop.
 Characteristics of Life
● Made of one or more cells
● Living organisms can sense changes in the environment and respond according to the changes.
Organisms have receptors that detect specific forms of energies which then are called stimuli (Singular
stimulus).
● Maintains homeostasis that is the maintenance of internal environment within range suitable for
cell activities. Example: Maintenance of blood sugar level by pancreas or balancing the temperature of
the body.
● Displays Higher level of organization.

Multi Cell
Cell Population Community Ecosystem Biosphere
Organism
 Characteristics of Life
5. Grows, Develops and Reproduce
Growth: Adding mass and new cells or structures
Development: Natural changes over the lifetime of an organism
Reproduction: Production of new offspring. It is essential for the continuation of life.

6. Life has the tendency to evolve which we

call evolution.
⮚ Evolution is the genetically based
change in a line of descent over time.
⮚ Life also adapts with time and the
organisms best adapted to the
environment are more likely to survive
and reproduce.
⮚ That is the “survival of the fittest”
 Interdependencies Among Organisms

Producers
• Make their own food

Consumers
• Depend on energy stored in
tissues of producers

Decomposers
• Break down remains and wastes

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 Living things + Nonliving things = Ecosystem
• The study of how living and nonliving things
interact called ecosystem.
• Living things in an ecosystem are called a
community
• There are three members in every community-
• Producers- can make their own food
• Consumers- feed on producers/other
consumers
• Decomposers-breaks down wastes and
remain of other organisms
• A population is only one type of organism.
• A food web is a pattern that shows the transfer of
energy between producers and consumers.
• All energy in a food web comes from sun.
Living things + Nonliving things = Ecosystem

● A habitat is the home of an organism.

● The size of the habitat depends on the organism’s needs.

● An organism’s habitat provides food, water, shelter, and space.

● The role of an organism in its environment is called niche.

● No two types of organisms occupy exactly the same niche in a community.

● During its life cycle, an organism’s niche may change.

 Energy Flow Among Living Organisms in Ecosystem

•Usually starts with energy from

sun
•Transfer from one organism to
another
•Energy flows in one direction
•Eventually, all energy flows back
to the environment

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 Individual organisms and species change over time

Adaptive trait
● A trait that gives the individual an advantage in
survival or reproduction, under a given set of
circumstances
● For example,
⮚ In hummingbirds, a long bill can be an adaptive trait
since it is both heritable and adaptive. And for over a
long time, more and more hummingbirds possess a
long bill since it maximizes the reproductive success
of these birds.

⮚ Zebras are chased by lions. Their striped bodies

EVOLUTION Natural Selection

• process that results in the adaptation of an organism to its environment by means of selectively
reproducing changes in its genotype, or genetic constitution.
• Evolution often occurs as a consequence of this process.
• Gene frequencies tend to remain constant from generation to generation when disturbing factors are
not present.
• Factors that disturb the natural equilibrium of gene frequencies include mutation, migration (or gene
flow), random genetic drift etc.
MUTATIONS Mutation
• A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism.
• Mutations can result from errors in DNA replication during cell division, exposure to mutagens or a viral infection.
• When someone is born with a trait none of its ancestors has, it has a mutation!
• Mutations- are changes in the predicted genetic pattern of organisms!
• They are caused by 2 reasons: random and harmful stuff in the environment.
• Harmful stuff in the environment includes: nuclear radiation, X-ray, etc!
• Sometimes scientists use mutations for their advantages. Examples are breeding livestock with desirable traits (largest) or
seedless oranges!
Antibiotic Resistance!
A common example of Natural selection

•Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria

•Mutations for antibiotic resistance exist or arise in

bacterial population

•Antibiotic-resistant bacteria survive and reproduce

better than non-resistant

•Over time, proportion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

increases
 Artificial Selection
Selective breeding of organisms to promote the appearance of desirable traits in offspring is
called artificial selection.
•Breeders favor some form of traits over others.
•Selective breeding.
•Favored traits increase in the population

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 Classification of Life
The three-domain system is a biological classification introduced by Carl Woese,
Otto Kandler, and Mark Wheelis in 1990 . that divides cellular life forms into three
domains, namely Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.

Domain Archaea
The Archaea are prokaryotic. The Archaeans possess unique, ancient evolutionary
history for which they are considered some of the oldest species of organisms on
Earth, most notably their diverse, exotic metabolisms.For example:
• methanogens – which produce the gas methane
● halophiles – which live in very salty water

Domain Bacteria
The Bacteria are also prokaryotic; their domain consists of cells with bacterial rRNA,
no nuclear membrane. Traditionally classified as bacteria, many thrive in the same
environments favored by humans, and were the first prokaryotes discovered; they
were briefly called the Eubacteria or "true" bacteria.

Domain Eukarya
Eukaryota are organisms whose cells contain a membrane-bound nucleus. They
include many large single-celled organisms and all known non-microscopic
organisms.
Classification of Life
 Scientific Names

● Every known living organism on Earth is classified and named by a set

of rules. Those rules are used by all scientists around the planet. The
names are called scientific names, not common names.

● Common names are the ones you might use when talking with your
friends. You call your pet a dog or a cat (the common name). Scientists
call those animals by a set of several names like Canis familiarus. That's
a dog. And this kind of name is called the Scientific Names.
 Taxonomy Taxonomy

✔ Taxonomy is the science of classification and

organization of living organisms based on their

⮚ evolutionary relationships,
⮚ morphological characteristics,
⮚ genetic information, and
⮚ other factors.

✔ Its primary purpose is to categorize and study

the diversity of life on Earth systematically.

✔ Carolus Linnaeus started this naming system.

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1. Domain: The largest classification level. 4. Class: A group of related orders within a phylum.
It groups all life into three broad categories based on Related orders means groups of living organisms that
cell structure: share common characteristics and belong to the same
 Bacteria Single-celled organisms without a class.
nucleus. Example:
 Archaea :Single-celled organisms that live in Class: Aves (Birds – warm-blooded, have feathers and lay
extreme environments. eggs)
 Order: Passeriformes (Perching birds like sparrows and
 Eukarya :Organisms with a nucleus in their cells
crows)
(includes animals, plants, fungi, and protists).  Order: Falconiformes (Birds of prey like eagles and
hawks)
2. Kingdom: The second-largest category that groups  Order: Strigiformes (Owls)
organisms based on their general characteristics.
Example: The Animalia kingdom Includes all animals. 5. Order: A group of related families within a class.
Example: The order Carnivora includes carnivorous
3. Phylum (Division in plants) :A major division of a animals like lions and wolves.
kingdom that includes related classes.
Example: The phylum Chordata includes animals with 6. Family: A group of related genera that share similar
a backbone (like humans, birds, and fish). characteristics.
Example: The family Felidae includes all cats, like lions,
tigers, and domestic cats.
7.Genus: A group of closely related species that share common traits.
Example: The genus Solanum includes species like potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), tomatoes (Solanum
lycopersicum), and eggplants (Solanum melongena).

8.Species:The smallest and most specific level of classification. Organisms in the same species can breed
and produce fertile offspring.
Example: Homo sapiens (humans).
 Binomial Naming System
● Scientist use a two-name system called a Binomial Naming System.

● Binomial System: Each species is assigned a unique two-part Latin name

● International Code of Nomenclature: Rules for naming organisms are governed by the International Code of
Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
(ICZN).

● The binomial naming system is a specific component of taxonomy.

● Its primary purpose is to provide a standardized and universally accepted way to assign unique names to
species of organisms.

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 Rules of Scientific Naming (Binomial Nomenclature)
• Genus and Species: The first part is the genus name (capitalized), and the second part is the species epithet
(lowercase).
• Italicize or Underline: The entire binomial name is typically italicized (or underlined if handwritten).
• Authorship: The name of the author who first described the species is often included in parentheses after the
binomial name.
• Genus Pluralization: The genus name remains the same in both singular and plural forms (e.g., one "Homo
sapiens" or multiple "Homo sapiens").
• Abbreviation: After the initial use, the genus name can be abbreviated using its initial letter followed by a
period (e.g., "E. coli" for Escherichia coli).
• Hierarchy: Binomial nomenclature is part of a hierarchical system of classification that includes domain,
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
• Uniformity: Scientific names facilitate clear and consistent communication about organisms, regardless of
language differences.
• Evolutionary Relationships: The system aims to reflect evolutionary relationships, grouping species more
closely related to each other within the same genus.