Bacteria: plants or animals?

Wherever you look, you will almost always find something alive. But if most of the time you can easily distinguish between plants and animals, what about bacteria? In what category do they go? We all know they are living organisms … but are they plants or animals?

In biology, living organisms are classified by relationships between species, and the science of classification is called Taxonomy. Modern taxonomic classifications are based on the similarities in the genetic material that defines each organism.

Bacteria are single-cell organisms, and they can be found virtually anywhere, in any environment, not to mention your own body. In fact, you need bacteria to survive, as they are involved in all the processes in your body. Furthermore, the human body can contain ten times more bacterial cells than human cells. Bacteria are often associated with diseases, but in fact most of them perform essential functions for our survival, such as digesting food, for example.

Until the mid-20th century, the accepted taxonomy (developed in the 18th century by Carolus Linnacus, a Swedish botanist) divided the natural world into three categories: animal, plant, and mineral. In the mid-20th century, however, a new classification was developed. , which divided living organisms into five kingdoms, according to the structure of their cells: animals, plants, bacteria, and blue-green algae and fungi.

However, as scientists learned more about microscopic organisms, a clear distinction between plants and animals no longer seemed possible. Also, as more is learned about DNA, an even smaller structure, some scientists have come to the conclusion that all classifications, not just plants / animals, don’t work at all.

And to answer the original question, whether bacteria are plants or animals, here’s a clarifying answer: Bacteria are not plants or animals. Each plant or animal cell has a nucleus, where it makes DNA, the genetic material. However, bacteria do not have a nucleus, their DNA floats within the cell.

So no, bacteria are not plants and they are not animals. Bacteria are just bacteria. When you think about it, making a certain distinction between plants and animals doesn’t seem difficult at all. Especially if you think of normal plants, not carnivorous plants or the like. But in the end, it turns out that things are not so simple. You have a clear idea in your head about what plants are, you know what animals are, and then you have bacteria. Neither plants nor animals.