M.Sc. Biotechnology (4 -Semesters w.e.f.

July 2004)
OUTLINES OF SYLLABUS (Total Credits-90)

1ST SEMESTER
Core Courses Course No. 1 Course No. 2 Course No. 3 Minor Elective Course No. 4 PRACTICALS Course No. 5 Course No. 6 Based on Course No. 1& 4 Based on Course No. 2 & 3 2.5 credit 2.5 credit Cell Biology & Virology 3 credit Microbiology Genetics and Molecular Biology Biochemistry & Biophysics 4 credit 4 credit 4 credit

2ND SEMESTER
Core Courses Course No. 7 Course No. 8 Course No. 9 Course No. 10 PRACTICALS Course No. 11 Course No. 12 Minor Elective Course No. 13 Based on Course No. 7 & 8 Based on Course No. 9 & 10 Term Paper and Seminar 2.5 credit 2.5 credit 1.5 credit Biology of the Immune System Enzymology & Enzyme Technology Genetic Engineering Environmental Biotechnology 4 credit 4 credit 4 credit 4 Credit

3RD SEMESTER
Core Courses Course No. 14 Course No. 15 Course No. 16 Animal Cell Culture Plant Biotechnology Bioprocess Engineering & Technology 4 credit 4 credit 4 Credit

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Minor Elective Course No. 17 PRACTICALS Course No. 18 Course No. 19 Minor Elective Course No. 20 Computer applications, Bio-Informatics & Biostatistics Based on Course No. 14 & 15 Based on Course No. 16 & 17 Term Paper and Seminar 3 credit 2 credit 2 credit 1.5 credit

4TH SEMESTER
Major Elective Course No. 21 Course based on Research project and its Seminar in the area of Animal, Plant and Microbial Biotechnology. 27 Credit Course No. 1 : 1. 2. 3. 4. Microbiology 4 credit History of Microbiology, Discovery of the microbial world Isolation, pure culture techniques, Methods of sterilization and Enrichment culture techniques Bacterial identification, nomenclature and classification, New approaches to bacterial taxonomy / classification including ribotyping and ribosomal RNA sequencing General structure and features, Brief account of all group of bacteria and cyanobacteria, Rickettsia, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma Archaea : Archaebacteria and extremophilic microbes their biotechnological potentials 5. 6. 7. The definition of growth, growth curve, measurement of growth and growth yields, Culture collection and maintenance of cultures Different modes of nutrition in bacteria, Sulfate reduction, Nitrogen metabolism nitrate reduction, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, Nitrogen fixation and Microbes used as biofertilizer Viruses : Classification, morphology and composition of viruses in general, Bacteriophages : X 174, cyanophages and retroviruses, Viroids and Prions Course No. 2 1. 2. 3. : Genetics and Molecular Biology 4 credit Introduction to cell division, Mendelian Laws and physical basis of inheritance, dominance and its molecular basis Basics of gene interaction, cis-trans-test and complementation test, lethal genes, polygenic traits, linkage and gene maps Double helix: Physico-chemical considerations

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4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, supercoiling, repetitive DNA DNA replication: Mechanism of replication of Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic Chromosome Mutation: Types and molecular mechanisms of mutations, mutagens, DNA Repair Transposition: Mechanisms of transposition, role of transposons in mutation Gene transfer in prokaryotes: Transformation, conjugation, transduction, construction of genetic maps in bacteria Recombination: Homologous and site - specific recombination Gene expression in bacteria: Transcription and its regulation; operons, attenuation, antitermination and anti-sense controls Prokaryotic translation machinery, mechanism and regulation of translation Gene expression in eukaryotes: Transcription, general and specific transcription factors, regulatory elements and mechanism of regulation, processing of transcripts Biochemistry & Biophysics 4 credit Carbohydrates; Glycolysis, Gluconeogenesis, Krebs Cycle, Electron transport chain, Oxidative Phosphorylation. Fatty acids; general properties and - oxidation Nitrogen metabolism: Amino acids (general properties); Amino acid sequencing and composition; end group analysis Proteins: Protein structure (primary, secondary, tertiary & quaternary), Globular, Fibrous proteins; Ramachandran plot, Circular Dichroism, Hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions. PAGE, SDSPAGE, Diagonal Electrophoresis Protein folding (Introduction / Tools to study folding unfolding phenomenon) DNA - protein interactions; DNA-drug interactions Cell Biology & Virology 3 credit Principles of Microscopy Structure of Cell (Bacterial, Plant and Animal) - Cell membranes, Composition of Cell Wall Structure and function of organelles (Mitochondria, Chloroplast, Nucleus, Golgi apparatus, Lysosomes, Ribosomes) and Cytoskeletal elements Cell adhesion Basic concepts of signal transduction Transport across biomembranes: facilitated transport, group translocation, Active transport, Na+-K+ ATPase pump Cell cycle and its control ( 15 )

Course No. 3 : 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Course No. 4 :

8. 9. 10. 11.

Oncogenesis Bacterial Viruses : Bacteriophage lambda and Single stranded DNA Phages (M13) Plant Viruses : TMV, CaMV and Gemini Virus Animal Viruses : Baculoviruses Based on Course No. 1& 4 Based on Course No. 2 & 3 2.5 credit 2.5 credit

PRACTICALS Course No. 5 : Course No. 6 :

2ND SEMESTER
Course No. 7 : 1. Introduction - Innate and acquired immunity - Clonal nature of the immune response 2. Nature of antigens 3. Antibody structure and function 4. Antigen - antibody reactions 5. Major histocompatibility complex 6. Complement system 7. Hematopoiesis and differentiation 8. Regulation of the immune response: Activation of B and T-lymphocytes, Cytokines, T-cell regulation, MHC restriction, Immunological tolerance 9. Cell-mediated cytotoxicity : Mechanism of cytotoxic T cells and NK cells mediated target cell lysis, Antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity, macrophage mediated cytotoxicity 10. Hypersensitivity 11. Autoimmunity 12. Transplantation 13. Immunity to infection and tumours Course No. 8 : 1. 2. 3. Enzymology & Enzyme Technology 4 credit Classification and nomenclature of enzymes Isolation, purification and large-scale production of enzymes Coenzymes and Cofactors ( 16 ) Biology of the Immune System 4 credit

4.

Steady state kinetics: Methods for estimation of rate of enzyme catalyzed reaction with special reference to Michaelis-Menten equation. Effects of substrate, temperature, pH and inhibitors on enzyme activity and stability Mechanism of enzyme action ( active site, chemical modification) and regulation (Zymogens, Isozymes) Enzyme engineering Applications of enzymes Immobilization of Enzymes Genetic Engineering 4 credit Restriction endonucleases, Modification methylases and other enzymes needed in genetic engineering Cloning vectors: Plasmids and plasmid vectors, Phages and Phage Vectors, phagemids, cosmids, artificial chromosome vectors ( YAC, BAC), Animal virus derived vectors - SV40 and retroviral vectors Molecular cloning: Recombinant DNA techniques, construction of genomic DNA and cDNA libraries, screening of recombinants Expression strategies for heterologous genes DNA analysis: labeling of DNA and RNA probes. Southern and fluorescence in situ hybridization, DNA fingerprinting, chromosome walking Techniques for gene expression: Northern and Western blotting, gel retardation technique, DNA footprinting, Primer extension, Sl mapping, Reporter assays Sequencing of DNA, chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides; techniques of in vitro mutagenesis, Site-directed mutagenesis, gene replacement and gene targeting Polymerase chain reaction and its applications Use of transposons in genetic analysis: Transposon tagging and its use in identification and isolation of genes Applications of genetic engineering: Transgenic animals, production of pharmaceuticals, gene therapy, disease diagnosis Biosafety regulation: Physical and Biological containment Environmental Biotechnology 4 Credit Environment : Basic concepts and issues Environmental pollution: types of pollution, measurement of pollution; Methodology of environmental management - the problem solving approach, its limitations Air Pollution and its control through Biotechnology recombinant

5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2.

Course No. 9 :

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 1. 2. 3.

Course No. 10 :

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4.

Water pollution and its Control : Water as a scarce natural resource; Need for water management; Measurement of water pollution; Sources of water pollution; Wastewater collection; Wastewater treatment-physical, chemical and biological treatment processes, Microbiology of waster water treatments; Aerobic processes: Activated sludge, Oxidation ditches, Trickling filter, Towers, Rotating discs, Rotating drums, Oxidation ponds; Anaerobic processes: Anaerobic processes; Anaerobic digestion, Anaerobic filters, Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors; Treatment schemes for wastewaters of dairy, distillary, sugar, antibiotic industries Degradation of Xenobiotic Compounds in Environment - Decay behaviour & degradative plasmids; Hydrocarbons, Substituted hydrocarbons, Oil pollution, Surfactants, Bioremediation of contaminated soils Biopesticides; their roles in pest management Solid wastes; Sources and management: composting, wormiculture and methane production, Food, feed and energy from solid waste (biomass and agrowastes) Global Environmental Problems: Ozone depletion, UV-B and greenhouse effect, Acid rain, its impact and biotechnological approaches for management Based on Course No. 7 & 8 Based on Course No. 9 & 10 Term Paper and Seminar 2.5 credit 2.5 credit 1.5 credit

5.

6. 7. 8.

PRACTICALS Course No. 11 : Course No. 12 : Minor Elective Course No. 13 :

3RD SEMESTER
Course No. 14 : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Animal Cell Culture 4 credit Introduction to the balanced salt solutions and simple growth medium. Brief discussion on the chemical, physical and metabolic functions of different constituents of culture medium Biology and characterization of the cultured cells Measuring parameters of Growth Basic techniques of mammalian cell cultures in vitro Serum & protein free defined media and their applications Measurement of viability and Cytotoxicity Cell synchronization Cell transformation Applications of animal cell culture, Stem cells and their applications, Hybridoma Technology and Monoclonal antibodies Organ Culture

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Course No. 15 : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Plant Biotechnology

4 credit

Introduction and history. Tissue culture media, Initiation and maintenance of callus and suspension cultures; single cell clones Biochemical production Organogenesis; somatic embryogenesis; transfer and establishment of whole plants in soil Rapid clonal propagation and production of virus -free plants In vitro pollination; embryo culture and embryo rescue Protoplast fusion, selection of hybrid cells; symmetric and asymmetric hybrids, cybrids. Nuclear cytology of cultured plant cells and somaclonal variations Production of haploid plants and their utilization Cryopreservation and slow growth for germ plasm conservation Gene transfer in nuclear genome and chloroplasts; Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer, direct gene transfer, gene silencing Transgenic plants: insect resistance, virus resistance, resistance to fungal / bacterial diseases, longer shelf life, male sterility Molecular markers: RFLP, RAPD, AFLP, applications of molecular markers Bioprocess Engineering & Technology 4 Credit Isolation, Preservation and Maintenance of Industrial Microorganisms Microbial Growth and Death Kinetics Media for Industrial Fermentation Air and Media Sterilization Types of fermentation processes - Analysis of batch, Fed-batch and continuous bioreactions, stability of microbial reactors, analysis of mixed microbial populations, specialized bioreactors (pulsed, fluidized, photobioreactors etc.,) Measurement and control of bioprocess parameters Downstream Processing Whole cell Immobilization and their Industrial Applications Industrial Production of Chemicals - Ethanol, Acids (citric, acetic and gluconic), solvents (glycerol, acetone, butanol), Antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline), Semisynthetic antibiotics, Aminoacids (lysine, glutamic acid), Single Cell Protein. Use of microbes in mineral beneficiation and oil recovery Introduction to Food Technology Elementary idea of canning and packing ( 19 )

Course No. 16 :

6. 7. 8. 9.

10. 11.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Sterilization and Pasteurization of Food Products Technology of Typical Food/Food products (bread, cheese, idli) Computer applications, Bioinformatics & Biostatistics 3 credit

Course No. 17:

Introduction of digital computers : Organization ; low-level and high - level languages; binary number system, Concept of operating system Flow charts and programming techniques Introduction to programming in C Introduction to data structures and database concepts, Overview of DBMS. Network topologies and protocols, Internet and its applications. Web-enabled services Introduction to MS-OFFICE software, covering Word Processing, Spreadsheets and presentation software Computer-oriented statistical techniques : Frequency table of single discrete variable, Bubble sort, computation of mean, variance and standard deviation; t-test, correlation coefficient Introduction to Bio-informatics : Definition and Aims, Fundamentals of Database searching, Computational gene finding multiple allignment and sequence search, Predicting structure and function, Molecular Evolution and phylogenetic trees, Based on Course No. 14 & 15 Based on Course No. 16 & 17 Term Paper and Seminar 2 credit 2 credit 1.5 credit

PRACTICALS Course No. 18 : Course No. 19 : Minor Elective Course No. 20 :

4TH SEMESTER
Course No. 21: 27 Credit Course based on project and its Seminar in the area of Animal, Plant and Microbial Biotechnology.

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