Biology Question!?

Question

Are bacteria and fungi considered plants? If an organism eats bacteria and other plants...is that organism considered an omnivore or an herbivore???

Answer 1

bacteria and fungi are not plants.

There are plants that eat other plants in that they suck the nutrients that were collected by that plant and make use of it themselves. (some vines)

Some may have a defense mechanism that takes unwanted bacteria, degrades them in the lysosome and then releases the components for cell use but ive never heard of a plant that had a diet like that. Its more like a immune response.

carnivores and omnivores eat flesh, so even if a plant ate another plant, they are herbivores. At most, they would be called cannibals.

Answer 2

The classification of organisms according to diet isn't all that exact, and many organisms actually stray beyond what their diet is 'supposed' to include. For example, even a strict herbivore like a cow will eat an awful lot of ants and leafhoppers and other insects in the course of the day. Often, a lot more insects than a little spider that is considered a carnivore.

Something that exclusively fed on fungi would be called a fungivore, or mycovore. Commonly, they would still probably be considered a herbivore, since they eat stationary, non-resisting food that grows in specific locations.

What you call an organism that feeds on bacteria depends a lot on how big that organism is compared to the bacteria. Something like a mosquito larva, fairy shrimp, or barnacle that feeds on bacteria, but is comparatively huge would generally be known more by how it collects its food rather than what it is eating. Most of them would be refered to as filter feeders, gleaners, or scrapers rather than a bacteriovore or other epithet.

However another bacteria that feeds actively on other bacteria, engulfing them or even hunting them down would probably be known as a predator, and could be called a carnivore.

Answer 3

Today neither bacteria nor fungi are regarded simply as "plants".


Around 1958-59 Whittaker proposed that instead of Two Kingdoms (Animals, Plants) there were enough evidence that all living organisms can be reclassified in five kingdoms:

Monera - bacterias (procariota cells)
Protista - protozoa and protophyta organisms (eucariota unicelular organisms)
Fungus - fungi (eucariotic pluricelular organisms)
Metaphyta - plants
Metazoa . animals

Currently is accepted the existence of three great "dominions":

Archaebacteria
Eubacteria
Eukariota (that includes Fungi, Protista, plants and animals).

Hope this clear puts clear your ideas. Ah! the way the living things feed is not the criterion used for classifying them as describe above! (fungi and a majority of bacteria are saprophyte organisms that means they feed from non living organic material as decaying or dead plant or animal matter, so they are not herbivore nor omnivore or carnivore)

Answer 4

Bacteria and fungi aren't organized under the plant kingdom. Omnivore or herbivore, I don't know.

Answer 5

Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. As prokaryotes (organisms without a cell nucleus) all bacteria have a relatively simple cell structure lacking a cell nucleus and organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts. Most bacteria are relatively small and possess distinctive cell and colony morphologies (shapes).

A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. Fungi were originally classified as plants, however they have since been separated as they are heterotrophs. This means they do not fix their own carbon through photosynthesis, but use carbon fixed by other organisms for metabolism. Fungi are now thought to be more closely related to animals than to plants, and are placed with animals in the monophyletic group of opisthokonts. The taxonomy of the Fungi is in a state of rapid flux at present, especially due to recent papers based on DNA comparisons, which often overturn the assumptions of the older systems of classification.[3] There is no unique generally accepted system at the higher taxonomic levels and there are constant name changes at every level, from species upwards. Web sites such as Index Fungorum, ITIS and Wikispecies define preferred up-to-date names (with cross-references to older synonyms), but do not always agree with each other or with names in Wikipedia in its various language variants.

Answer 6

Bacteria and fungi are not plants. They have their own kingdoms.

Answer 7

fungi are plants, bacteria are "animal".... and I'm not sure about the second question, omnivore i guess.

Answer 8

No their not plants. Their eukaryotes/prokaryotes. If their eaten by an animal the animal is a herbivore unless they also eat meat.

Answer 9

no, bacteria and fungi are decomposers.

decomposer= something that breaks down things... like mushrooms.

Answer 10

they are classed as organisms in their own kingdoms. organisms that eat them are generally herbivore, unless they eat meat too, but that is extremely rare.