Syllabus of GATE Biotechnology

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering examination for the subject of Biotechnology is jointly conducted by Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, DHE, MHRD, India.

GATE Biotech exam consists of 65 questions and the aspirant can score maximum 100 marks in the exam. The time duration of the exam is 3 hours. GATE Biotechnology syllabus comprises common general aptitude (GA) and from biotechnology (BT).

Previous Year Question Paper

Download Old Papers of GATE Biotechnology 2010-2021 to practice and take mock test for your GATE BT preparation.

 Download GATE BT PYQs

General Aptitude (GA)

Verbal Ability: English grammar, sentence completion, verbal analogies, word groups, instructions, critical reasoning and verbal deduction.

Numerical Ability: Numerical computation, numerical estimation, numerical reasoning and data interpretation.

Biotechnology (BT)

Section 1: 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 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 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 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