Answer: The phycobiont.
- A The mycobiont
- B The symbiont
- C The phycobiont
- D The basidiocarp
Correct answer: C. The phycobiont
Explanation: A lichen is a partnership of a fungus (mycobiont) and an alga (phycobiont); the alga makes food, the fungus gives shelter and absorbs minerals.
Whittaker's five-kingdom system (1969) groups all cellular life by cell structure and nutrition; viruses, viroids, and lichens fall outside this system entirely since they aren't independently classifiable as one of the five.
Concept context
Whittaker's five kingdom system covering Monera, Protista, Fungi, plus viruses, viroids, and lichens. A foundational NEET chapter on how living organisms are grouped.