In this article, you will get GATE 2024 Syllabus for Biotechnology. Given Below is the official GATE syllabus for Biotechnology 2024 that has been released by IISC Bangalore. The syllabus is designed to assess the candidates’ understanding of both the basic concepts and advanced topics in Biotechnology.
It consists of seven main sections: Engineering Mathematics, General Biology, Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Fundamentals of Biological Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology, Plant, Animal and Microbial Biotechnology, and Recombinant DNA Technology and Other Tools in Biotechnology
GATE syllabus for Biotechnology is a complete guide for candidates preparing for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). By focusing on Engineering Mathematics and Core Discipline, the syllabus ensures a thorough evaluation of the candidates’ academic and practical knowledge in the field. This prepares them for various career opportunities in Biotechnology and related sectors.
GATE Syllabus for Biotechnology 2024-2025
| SECTIONS | TOPICS |
| Section 1: Engineering Mathematics | Linear Algebra: Matrices and determinants; Systems of linear equations; Eigen values and Eigen vectors. Calculus: Limits, continuity and differentiability; Partial derivatives, maxima and minima; Sequences and series; Test for convergence. Differential Equations: Linear and nonlinear first order ODEs, higher order ODEs with constant coefficients; Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations; Laplace transforms. 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 by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule; Single step method for differential equations. |
| Section 2: General Biology | Biochemistry: Biomolecules – structure and function; Biological membranes – structure, membrane channel and pumps, molecular motors, action potential and transport processes; Basic concepts and regulation of metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids; Photosynthesis, respiration and electron transport chain. Enzymes – Classification, catalytic and regulatory strategies; Enzyme kinetics – Michaelis- Menten equation; Enzyme inhibition – competitive, non-competitive and uncompetitive inhibition. Microbiology: Bacterial classification and diversity; Microbial Ecology – microbes in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems; Microbial interactions; Viruses – structure and classification; Methods in microbiology; Microbial growth and nutrition; Nitrogen fixation; Microbial diseases and host-pathogen interactions; Antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. Immunology: Innate and adaptive immunity, humoral and cell mediated immunity; Antibody structure and function; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; T cell and B cell development; Antigen-antibody reaction; Complement; Primary and secondary lymphoid organs; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hypersensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction; Immunization and vaccines. |
| Section 3: Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology | Genetics and Evolutionary Biology: Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extra chromosomal inheritance; Microbial genetics – transformation, transduction and conjugation; Horizontal gene transfer and transposable elements; Chromosomal variation; Genetic disorders; Population genetics; Epigenetics; Selection and inheritance; Adaptive and neutral evolution; Genetic drift; Species and speciation. Cell Biology: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell-cell communication; Cell signalling and signal transduction; Post-translational modifications; Protein trafficking; Cell death and autophagy; Extra-cellular matrix. Molecular Biology: Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; Mutations and mutagenesis; Regulation of gene expression; Nucleic acid – replication,transcription, splicing, translation and their regulatory mechanisms; Non-coding and micro RNA; RNA interference; DNA damage and repair. |
| Section 4: Fundamentals of Biological Engineering | Engineering principles applied to biological systems: Material and energy balances for reactive and non-reactive systems; Recycle, bypass and purge processes; Stoichiometry of growth and product formation; Degree of reduction, electron balance, theoretical oxygen demand. Classical thermodynamics and Bioenergetics: Laws of thermodynamics; Solution thermodynamics; Phase equilibria, reaction equilibria; Ligand binding; Membrane potential; Energetics of metabolic pathways, oxidation and reduction reactions. Transport Processes: Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, fluid flow – laminar and turbulent; Mixing in bioreactors, mixing time; Molecular diffusion and film theory; Oxygen transfer and uptake in bioreactor, kLa and its measurement; Conductive and convective heat transfer, LMTD, overall heat transfer coefficient; Heat exchangers. |
| Section 5: Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology | Bioreaction engineering: Rate law, zero and first order kinetics; Ideal reactors – batch, mixed flow and plug flow; Enzyme immobilization, diffusion effects – Thiele modulus, effectiveness factor, Damkoehler number; Kinetics of cell growth, substrate utilization and product formation; Structured and unstructured models; Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes; Microbial and enzyme reactors; Optimization and scale up. Upstream and Downstream Processing: Media formulation and optimization; Sterilization of air and media; Filtration – membrane filtration, ultrafiltration; Centrifugation – high speed and ultra; Cell disruption; Principles of chromatography – ion exchange, gel filtration, hydrophobic interaction, affinity, GC, HPLC and FPLC; Extraction, adsorption and drying. Instrumentation and Process Control: Pressure, temperature and flow measurement devices; Valves; First order and second order systems; Feedback and feed forward control; Types of controllers – proportional, derivative and integral control, tuning of controllers. |
| Section 6: Plant, Animal and Microbial Biotechnology | Plants: 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; Hairy root culture; Plant products of industrial importance; Artificial seeds; Somaclonal variation; Protoplast, protoplast fusion – somatic hybrid and cybrid; Transgenic plants – direct and indirect methods of gene transfer techniques; Selection marker and reporter gene; Plastid transformation. Animals: 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; Knock-out and knock-in animals. Microbes: Production of biomass and primary/secondary metabolites – Biofuels, bioplastic, industrial enzymes, antibiotics; Large scale production and purification of recombinant proteins and metabolites; Clinical-, food- and industrial- microbiology; Screening strategies for new products. |
| Section 7: Recombinant DNA technology and Other Tools in Biotechnology | Recombinant DNA technology: Restriction and modification enzymes; Vectors – plasmids, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, bacterial and yeast artificial chromosomes; Expression vectors; cDNA and genomic DNA library; Gene isolation and cloning, strategies for production of recombinant proteins; Transposons and gene targeting; Molecular tools: Polymerase chain reaction; DNA/RNA labelling and sequencing; Southern and northern blotting; In-situ hybridization; DNA fingerprinting, RAPD, RFLP; Site-directed mutagenesis; Gene transfer technologies; CRISPR-Cas; Biosensing and biosensors. Analytical tools: Principles of microscopy – light, electron, fluorescent and confocal; Principles of spectroscopy – UV, visible, CD, IR, fluorescence, FT-IR, MS, NMR; Electrophoresis; Micro-arrays; Enzymatic assays; Immunoassays – ELISA, RIA, immunohistochemistry; immunoblotting; Flow cytometry; Whole genome and ChIP sequencing. Computational tools: Bioinformatics resources and search tools; Sequence and structure databases; Sequence analysis – sequence file formats, scoring matrices, alignment, phylogeny; Genomics, proteomics, metabolomics; Gene prediction; Functional annotation; Secondary structure and 3D structure prediction; Knowledge discovery in Biochemical databases; Metagenomics; Metabolic engineering and systems Biology. |
Biotechnology 2024 Paper Pattern and Marking
- Mode of Examination: Online
- Duration of Exam: 3 hours
- Types of Questions: MCQs, MSQs and NAT
- Sections: 3 sections – General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics and Biotechnology
- Total Marks: 100 marks
- Total Questions: 65 questions
- General Aptitude – 15 Marks of MCQs Questions
- 5 Questions – 1 Marks
- 5 Questions – 2 Marks
- Engineering Mathematics and Biotechnology – 85 Marks of MCQs, MSQs and NATs Questions
- Engineering Mathematics – 13 Marks
- Biotechnology – 72 Marks
- 25 Questions – 1 Marks
- 30 Questions – 2 Marks
- General Aptitude – 15 Marks of MCQs Questions
- Negative Marking
- For MCQs
- ⅓ for 1 mark questions
- ⅔ for 2 marks questions
- NATs – No Negative Marking
- For MCQs
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the main sections of the GATE Biotechnology syllabus?
- The syllabus includes General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Core Discipline. The Core Discipline carries the maximum weightage of 70%.
- What are the important topics in the GATE Biotechnology syllabus?
- Important topics include Engineering Mathematics, Biotechnology, Recombinant DNA Technology, Transport Processes, Upstream and Downstream Processing, among others.
- Can I select a second paper along with Biotechnology?
- Yes, candidates can select Biomedical/ Life Sciences (BM/ XL) as their second paper.
- What is the weightage of Engineering Mathematics in the GATE Biotechnology exam?
- Engineering Mathematics is a significant part of the syllabus, but the exact weightage can vary each year. It’s advisable to check the latest syllabus for precise details.
- Where can I find the detailed GATE syllabus for Biotechnology?
- The detailed syllabus can be downloaded from our website or from the official GATE website – https://gate2024.iisc.ac.in/.
- Are there any changes in the syllabus from the previous year?
- Changes in the syllabus, if any, are usually announced by the organizing institute. Candidates should refer to the official GATE notification for the latest syllabus updates.
- What type of questions are asked in the GATE Biotechnology paper?
- The paper includes multiple-choice questions (MCQs), multiple-select questions (MSQs), and numerical answer type (NAT) questions based on the topics in the syllabus.
- When will the GATE 2024 Biotechnology exam be conducted?
- The GATE 2024 is being conducted on February 3, 4, 10, and 11, 2024.