GATE Biotechnology Syllabus

Subject Code: BT

Sections/Units	Topics
Section A	Engineering Mathematics
Section B	General Biotechnology
Unit 1	Biochemistry
Unit 2	Microbiology
Unit 3	Cell Biology
Unit 4	Molecular Biology and Genetics
Unit 5	Analytical Techniques
Unit 6	Immunology
Unit 7	Bioinformatics
Section C	Recombinant DNA Technology
Section D	Plant and Animal Biotechnology
Section E	Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology

Section A: Engineering Mathematics

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

Section B: General Biotechnology

Unit 1: Biochemistry

Biomolecules-structure and functions −
- Biological membranes
- Structure
- Action potential
- Transport processes
Enzymes −
- Classification
- Kinetics and mechanism of action
Basic concepts and designs of metabolism −
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Amino acids
- Nucleic acids
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration
- Electron transport chain
Bioenergetics

Unit 2: Microbiology

Unit 3: Cell Biology

Unit 4: Molecular Biology and Genetics

Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes
Mutations and mutagenesis
Nucleic acid replication, transcription, translation and their regulatory mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Mendelian inheritance
Gene interaction
Complementation
Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping
Extra chromosomal inheritance
Microbial genetics (plasmids, transformation, transduction, conjugation)
Horizontal gene transfers and Transposable elements
RNA interference
DNA damage and repair
Chromosomal variation
Molecular basis of genetic diseases

Unit 5: Analytical Techniques

Unit 6: Immunology

Unit 7: Bioinformatics

Major bioinformatics resources and search tools
Sequence and structure databases
Sequence analysis −
- Biomolecular sequence file formats
- Scoring matrices
- Sequence alignment
- Phylogeny
Data mining and analytical tools for genomic and proteomic studies
Molecular dynamics and simulations (basic concepts including force fields, protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, protein-ligand interaction)

Section C: Recombinant DNA Technology

Restriction and modification enzymes
Vectors; plasmid, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, yeast artificial chromosome
Mammalian and plant expression vectors
cDNA and genomic DNA library
Gene isolation, cloning and expression
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

Section D: Plant and Animal Biotechnology

Totipotency
Regeneration of plants
Plant growth regulators and elicitors
Tissue culture and Cell suspension culture system −
- Methodology
- Kinetics of growth
- Nutrient optimization
Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures
Hairy root culture
Transgenic plants
Plant products of industrial importance

Animal cell culture

Section E: Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology

Chemical engineering principles applied to biological system −
- Principle of reactor design
- Ideal and non-ideal multiphase bioreactors
- Mass and heat transfer
Rheology of fermentation fluids, Aeration and agitation
Media formulation and optimization
Kinetics of microbial growth, substrate utilization and product formation
Sterilization of air and media
Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes
Various types of microbial and enzyme reactors
Instrumentation control and optimization
Unit operations in solid-liquid separation and liquid-liquid extraction
Process scale-up, economics and feasibility analysis

Engineering principle of bioprocessing

Upstream production and downstream
Bioprocess design and development from lab to industrial scale
Microbial, animal and plant cell culture platforms
Production of biomass and primary/secondary metabolites
Biofuels, Bioplastics, industrial enzymes, antibiotics
Large scale production and purification of recombinant proteins
Industrial application of chromatographic and membrane based bio-separation methods
Immobilization of biocatalysts (enzymes and cells) for bioconversion processes
Bioremediation-Aerobic and anaerobic processes for stabilization of solid/liquid wastes

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