| 1. | Cell Biology | Structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; Membrane structure and function; Organelles and internal organization of the eukaryotic cell Protein trafficking in a eukaryotic cell; Cell communication – signalling pathways: endocrine and paracrine signalling; Extracellular matrix and apoptosis; Cell cycle – stages of mitosis and meiosis, and control of cell division cycle. |
| 2. | Biochemistry | Structure and function of biological macromolecules; Allostery; Enzymes – basic mechanisms of enzyme catalysis, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, enzyme inhibition, vitamins as coenzymes, and regulation; Bioenergetics – free-energy change, high-energy compounds, biological oxidation-reduction reactions and reduction potential; Metabolism – glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, urea cycle, and regulation of glycolysis and TCA cycle. |
| 3. | Genetics | Mendel’s laws; Inheritance patterns of polygenic traits; Mendelian inheritance pattern of human disorders; Pedigree analysis; Chromosomal basis of inheritance; Genetic recombination; Mapping genes on chromosomes based on linkage analysis; Plant breeding. |
| 4. | Molecular Biology | Landmark experiments that established DNA is the genetic material; DNA replication; Proof-reading and repair of DNA; DNA recombination; Transcription; RNA processing; Translation; Regulation of gene expression including operons bacteria and differential gene expression in multicellular eukaryotes. |
| 5. | Evolution | Darwinian view – natural selection, fossil record and descent with modification; Population genetics – sources of genetic variation, gene pools and allele frequencies, HardyWeinberg equation, genetic drift, gene flow and adaptive evolution; Different types of speciation; Phylogenetic classification; Origin of life – abiotic synthesis of biological macromolecules, protocell, dating fossils and origin of multicellularity. |
| 6. | Microbiology | Isolation; Cultivation; Structural features of viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa; Pathogenic microorganisms; Nutrition-based classification of microbes; Microbial metabolism; Growth kinetics; Submerged fermentation techniques; Microbial genetics. |
| 7. | Plant Biology | Types of tissues and organs; Primary and secondary growth; Morphogenesis; Transport in vascular plants; Plant nutrition; Development of flowering plants – gametophytic and sporophytic generations, different developmental phases, genetic control of flowering, gametogenesis, incompatibility, embryogenesis, dormancy, germination and environmental influence; Plant hormones; Photobiology; Plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. |
| 8. | Animal Biology | Digestive, circulatory, respiratory, excretory, nervous, reproductive and endocrine systems; Basics of immunology – Innate and adaptive immunity, Immune cells and immunoglobulins; Animal development – Fertilization, embryonic pattern formation, cleavage, gastrulation, cellular differentiation and morphogenesis. |
| 9. | Ecology | Climate patterns; Terrestrial and aquatic biomes; Environmental constraints on species distribution; Factors affecting population density; Interactions among communities; Ecosystems; Ecological remediation. |
| Methods in Biology: |
| 1. | Cell Biology | Microscopy (light microscopy and electron microscopy); Staining proteins with antibodies; Visualizations using the GFP reporter. |
| 2. | Biochemical techniques | UV spectrophotometry; Biomolecular chromatography; cell fractionation by centrifugation; Electrophoresis; and Western blotting. |
| 3. | Molecular biology techniques | DNA cloning – plasmid vectors, and restriction enzymes; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Expression of cloned eukaryotic genes in bacteria; hybridisation techniques; DNA sequencing. |
