GATE Biotechnology Syllabus 2012

Linear Algebra

Matrices and determinants, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and Eigen vectors.

Calculus

Limit, continuity and differentiability, Partial derivatives, Maxima and minima, Sequences and series, Test for convergence, Fourier Series.

Differential Equations

Linear and nonlinear first order ODEs, higher order ODEs with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Laplace transforms, PDE- Laplace, heat and wave equations.

Probability and Statistics

Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, normal and binomial distributions, Correlation and regression analysis.

Numerical Methods

Solution of linear and nonlinear algebraic equations, Integration of trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule, Single and multistep methods for differential equations.

Microbiology

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Microbial nutrition, growth and control; Microbial metabolism (aerobic and anaerobic respiration, photosynthesis); Nitrogen fixation; Chemical basis of mutations and mutagens; Microbial genetics (plasmids, transformation, transduction, conjugation); Microbial diversity and characteristic features; Viruses.

Biochemistry

Biomolecules and their conformation; Ramachandran map; Weak inter-molecular interactions in biomacromolecules; Chemical and functional nature of enzymes; Kinetics of single substrate and bi-substrate enzyme catalyzed reactions; Bioenergetics; Metabolism (Glycolysis, TCA and Oxidative phosphorylation); Membrane transport and pumps; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell signaling and signal transduction; Biochemical and biophysical techniques for macromolecular analysis.

Molecular Biology and Genetics

Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; DNA replication and control; Transcription and its control; Translational processes; Regulatory controls in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extrachromosomal inheritance; Chromosomal variation; Population genetics; Transposable elements, Molecular basis of genetic diseases and applications.

Process Biotechnology

Bioprocess technology for the production of cell biomass and primary/secondary metabolites, such as baker’s yeast, ethanol, citric acid, amino acids, exo-polysacharides, antibiotics and pigments etc.; Microbial production, purification and bioprocess application(s) of industrial enzymes; Production and purification of recombinant proteins on a large scale; Chromatographic and membrane based bioseparation methods; Immobilization of enzymes and cells and their application for bioconversion processes. Aerobic and anaerobic biological processes for stabilization of solid / liquid wastes; Bioremediation.

Bioprocess Engineering

Kinetics of microbial growth, substrate utilization and product formation; Simple structured models; Sterilization of air and media; Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes; Aeration and agitation; Mass transfer in bioreactors; Rheology of fermentation fluids; Scale-up concepts; Design of fermentation media; Various types of microbial and enzyme reactors; Instrumentation in bioreactors.

Plant and Animal Biotechnology

Special features and organization of plant cells; Totipotency; Regeneration of plants; Plant products of industrial importance; Biochemistry of major metabolic pathways and products; Autotrophic and heterotrophic growth; Plant growth regulators and elicitors; Cell suspension culture development: methodology, kinetics of growth and production formation, nutrient optimization; Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures; Hairy root cultures and their cultivation. Techniques in raising transgencies.

Characteristics of Animal Cells

Metabolism, regulation and nutritional requirements for mass cultivation of animal cell cultures; Kinetics of cell growth and product formation and effect of shear force; Product and substrate transport; Micro & macro-carrier culture; Hybridoma technology; Live stock improvement; Cloning in animals; Genetic engineering in animal cell culture; Animal cell preservation.

Immunology

The origin of immunology; Inherent immunity; Humoral and cell mediated immunity; Primary and secondary lymphoid organ; Antigen; B and T cells and Macrophages; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Synthesis of antibody and secretion; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Complement; Antigen-antibody reaction; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hyper sensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction.

Recombinant DNA Technology

Restriction and modification enzymes; Vectors: plasmid, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, yeast artificial chromosome; cDNA and genomic DNA library; Gene isolation; Gene cloning; Expression of cloned gene; Transposons and gene targeting; DNA labeling; DNA sequencing; Polymerase chain reactions; DNA fingerprinting; Southern and northern blotting; In-situ hybridization; RAPD; RFLP; Site-directed mutagenesis; Gene transfer technologies; Gene therapy.

Bioinformatics

Major bioinformatics resources (NCBI, EBI, ExPASy); Sequence and structure databases; Sequence analysis (biomolecular sequence file formats, scoring matrices, sequence alignment, phylogeny); Genomics and Proteomics (Large scale genome sequencing strategies; Comparative genomics; Understanding DNA microarrays and protein arrays); Molecular modeling and simulations (basic concepts including concept of force fields).