GATE - Biotechnology (BT) Results

(All three are compulsory)

The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear for GATE:

a. Bachelors degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

b. Masters degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

c. Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Masters degree programme (Post- B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology or in the third or higher year of the Five-year Integrated Masters degree programme and Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.

d. Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by IE(I), AMICE(I) by the Institute of Civil Engineers (India)- ICE(I)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

e. The students of Integrated Master Degree and Dual Degree programmes in Engineering/ Technology are eligible to appear in GATE 2010 in order to qualify for the postgraduate scholarships in their own institutions only. They are not eligible for admission to a fresh M.E./M.Tech. programmes.

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

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

Q.48 - Q.51 (2 pairs) are common data questions and question 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.

For Q.1 - Q.25 and Q.56 - Q.60, 1/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. For Q.26 - Q.51 and Q.61 - Q.65, 1/2 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 the wrong answer to the first question of the linked answer question pair i.e. for Q.52 and Q.54, 2/3mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. There is no negative marking for Q.53 and Q.55.

(GATE Biotechnology paper will also contain questions on Engineering Mathematics carrying 15 marks)

Linear Algebra: Matrices and Determinants, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors.

Calculus: Limit, continuity and differentiability, Partial derivatives, Maxima and minima, Sequences and series, Test for convergence, Fourier series.

Equations: Linear and nonlinear first-order ODEs, higher-order ODEs with constant coefficients, Cauchy and Euler equations, Laplace transforms, PDE- Laplace, heat, and wave equations.

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 Simpsons rule, Single and multi-step methods for differential equations.

Microbiology: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Microbial nutrition, growth, and control; Microbial metabolism (aerobic and anaerobic respiration, photosynthesis); Nitrogen fixation; a 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, recombinant

Process Biotechnology: Bioprocess technology for the production of cell biomass and primary/secondary metabolites, such as bakers yeast, ethanol, citric acid, amino acids, Exo-polysaccharides, 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, the 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 transgenes.

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; Antigenantibody reaction; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hypersensitivity; 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 the 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);

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

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