Answer: Deuteromycetes.
- A Phycomycetes
- B Ascomycetes
- C Basidiomycetes
- D Deuteromycetes
Correct answer: D. Deuteromycetes
Explanation: Deuteromycetes (imperfect fungi) are so named because only their asexual or vegetative phases are known. Once a sexual stage is discovered, the species is reclassified into its proper class.
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.