GATE Biotechnology Engineering Syllabus for GATE 2023 (Updated 2020)
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Section 1: Engineering Mathematics
Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and eigenvectors.
Calculus: Functions of single variable, Limit, continuity and differentiability, Taylor series, Mean value theorems, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial derivatives, Total derivative, Maxima and minima, Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.
Differential equations: First order equations (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, Solutions of one dimensional heat and wave equations and Laplace equation.
Complex variables: Complex number, polar form of complex number, triangle inequality.
Probability and Statistics: Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, Linear regression analysis.
Numerical Methods: Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations. Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for numerical solution of differential equations.
Section 2: General Biotechnology
Biochemistry: Biomolecules-structure and functions; Biological membranes, structure, action potential and transport processes; Enzymes- classification, kinetics and mechanism of action; Basic concepts and designs of metabolism (carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids) photosynthesis, respiration and electron transport chain; Bioenergetics
Microbiology: Viruses- structure and classification; Microbial classification and diversity(bacterial, algal and fungal); Methods in microbiology; Microbial growth and nutrition; Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Nitrogen fixation; Microbial diseases and host-pathogen interaction
Cell Biology: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell-Cell communication, Cell signaling and signal transduction
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 transfer and Transposable elements; RNA interference; DNA damage and repair; Chromosomal variation; Molecular basis of genetic diseases Analytical Techniques: Principles of microscopy-light, electron, fluorescent and confocal; Centrifugation- high speed and ultra; Principles of spectroscopy-UV, visible, CD, IR, FTIR, Raman, MS,NMR; Principles of chromatography- ion exchange, gel filtration, hydrophobic interaction, affinity, GC,HPLC, FPLC; Electrophoresis; Microarray
Immunology: History of Immunology; Innate, humoral and cell mediated immunity; Antigen; Antibody structure and function; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; Synthesis of antibody and secretion; Antigen-antibody reaction; Complement; Primary and secondary lymphoid organ; B and T cells and macrophages; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hypersensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction.
Bioinformatics: Major bioinformatic 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 3: 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 4: Plant and Animal Biotechnology
Totipotency; Regeneration of plants; Plant growth regulators and elicitors; Tissue culture and Cell suspension culture system: methodology, kinetics of growth and, nutrient optimization; Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures; Hairy root culture; transgenic plants; Plant products of industrial importance
Animal cell culture; media composition and growth conditions; Animal cell and tissue preservation; Anchorage and non-anchorage dependent cell culture; Kinetics of cell growth; Micro & macro-carrier culture; Hybridoma technology; Stem cell technology; Animal cloning; Transgenic animals
Section 5: 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 bioseparation methods; Immobilization of biocatalysts (enzymes and cells) for bioconversion processes; Bioremediation-Aerobic and anaerobic processes for stabilization of solid / liquid wastes.