SYLLABUS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY (BT)

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).

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration which

contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper
will consist of only objective questions. In all papers other than AE and TF, all
the questions are of multiple choice type. In AE and TF papers, the question
paper will consist of 60 questions of multiple choice type and 5 questions of
numerical answer type. For multiple choice type questions, each question will
have four choices for the answer. For numerical answer type questions, each
question will have a number as the answer The examination for the papers
with codes AE, GG, MN and TF will be carried out ONLINE using computers
where the candidates will be required to enter the answer for each question
using keyboard/mouse. For all other papers, the candidates will have to mark
the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the
appropriate bubble against each question. There will be negative marking for
each wrong answer, except for the numerical answer type questions.
Each GATE paper shall have a General Aptitude (GA) component carrying 15
marks.

There will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks.

Q.1 to Q.25 (25 questions) carry one mark each (sub-total 25 marks). Q.26 to
Q.55 (30 questions) carry two marks each (sub-total 60 marks). Questions
Q.56 - Q.65 belong to General Aptitude (GA). Questions Q.56 - Q.60 (5
questions) carry 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and questions Q.61 - Q.65 (5
questions) carry 2-marks each (sub-total 10 marks).

Questions Q.48 - Q.51 (2 pairs) are common data questions. and Qquestion
pairs (Q.52, Q.53) and (Q.54, Q.55) are linked answer questions. The answer
to the second question of the linked answer questions depends on the answer
to the first question of the pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly
answered or is unattempted, then the answer to the second question in the
pair will not be evaluated.

NEGATIVE MARKING:For Q.1 - Q.25 and Q.56 - Q.60, ⅓ mark will be

deducted for each wrong answer. For Q.26 - Q.51 and Q.61 - Q.65, ⅔ mark
will be deducted for each wrong answer. The question pairs (Q.52, Q.53), and
(Q.54, Q.55) are questions with linked answers. There will be negative marks
only for wrong answer to the first question of the linked answer question pair
i.e. for Q.52 and Q.54, ⅔ mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
There is no negative marking for Q.53 and Q.55.

Questions on Engineering Mathematics will carry about 15% of the total marks
(excluding General Aptitude section) in all the papers bearing the codes AG,
BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT and PI.