CSIR NET Life Science Syllabus - Important Topics

1. CSIR NET Life Science Important topics

2. Being a broader subject, life science has many topics which make the CSIR NET syllabus huge. So, how you have to deal with all these topics? Don’t worry as here we’ve provided the list of important topics of CSIR NET life science subject. You are suggested to check the complete presentation..

3. Unit -1 Molecules and their Interaction Relevant to Biology • The stabilizing bonds between macromolecules • Protein conformations, dihedral bonds and Ramachandran plot, techniques to determine different conformations, and their sequencing. • Metabolic pathways of carbohydrates including glycolytic and TCA cycle steps, regulation (specially allosteric and feedback inhibition), enzymes cofactors involved and stoichiometry, ETC and ATP synthesis (along with inhibitors) (very important)

4. Unit -1 Molecules and their Interaction Relevant to Biology • Protein conformations, dihedral bonds and Ramachandran plot, techniques to determine different conformations, and their sequencing. • Numerical questions on molarity, pH buffer and thermodynamic (delta G calculation in various cellular processes). Get Detailed information for CSIR NET Life Science from Here.

5. Unit -2 Cellular Organisation • Protein transport pathways to various organelles, cytoskeletal components like actin, dynein, kinesin and their function in different cellular processes, enzymatic contents of cellular organelles like Golgi, lysosomes, peroxisomes, diseases associated with their impaired functions, protein modifications in ER. • Lipid rafts, FRAP, freeze etching. • Cellular fractionation-based questions will also be asked.

6. Unit -2 Cellular Organisation • Various types of ion channels, pumps, and transporters, their inhibitors (it’s very important to memorize their names and exact mode of inhibition, membrane destabilizing agents, detergent treatments (mostly experimental based questions are expected), membrane potential and what causes a change in the potential. • Membrane structure and function – The composition and nature in detail, all types of phospholipids and proteins, their distribution in the membrane, RBC membrane components such as Band.

7. Unit – 3 Fundamental Processes • RNA Transcription: Transcription factors in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, RNA polymerase, machinery, initiation complex formation, capping, polyadenylation, types of RNA splicing – spliceosome components, RNA editing. • DNA Replication: Meselson Stahl Experiment, prokaryotic and eukaryotic replication, different types of DNA polymerases and their specific functions.

8. Unit – 3 Fundamental Processes • Gene regulation in eukaryotes – Phage gene regulation – Lytic and lysogenic phases and genes expressed. • Individual stages of the processes (initiation, elongation, termination) and the components involved (like enzymes, activators, inhibitors, repressors) • Gene silencing methods, RNAi

9. Unit 4 - Cell Communication and Cell Signaling • The 1st subunit • The 2nd subunit deals with cell signalling • The 3rd subunit is about cell communication • 4th subunit

10. Unit 5 – Developmental Biology • Gametogenesis with special emphasis on stages and chromosome number, fertilization process, slow block and fast block to polyspermy. • Types of eggs and various cleavage patterns and examples of organisms in which it takes place, fate maps. • The important terms and terminologies such as potency, commitment, induction, competence, cytoplasmic determinants and morphogenetic gradients – in-depth concepts with reference to the different developmental processes.

11. Unit 5 – Developmental Biology • Drosophila developmental stages – all types of maternal and zygotic genes involved with the detailed process of function. Very scoring topic overall! • Differentiating between terms such as specification, differentiation, and determination. Types of specifications such as autonomous, conditional and regulative with examples. • From plant development focus on topics such as double fertilization, leaf development, meristems and their transition to flowering, and complete floral development (along with ABC model) with emphasis on the genes involved in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum.

12. Unit – 6 System Psychology - Plant • Biotic and abiotic stress – Plant’s detailed mechanisms for adapting to different stress conditions. • Sensory photobiology – phytochrome, cryptochrome, phototropin, photoperiodism, short-day plants, long-day plants, behavior and response of a plant to different colored lights.

13. Unit – 6 System Psychology - Plant • Photosynthesis – C2, C3, C4, CAM pathway, TCA, photorespiration, oxidative phosphorylation, cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation. • Solute transport, Water potential concept. • Stomatal opening and closure by various triggers.

14. Unit – 7 System Psychology – Animal • Cardiac cycle, heartbeats, blood pressure, blood volume regulation, different serum contents. • Different neurotransmitters and action potential, you may expect a combined question with Unit 2 with respect to membrane or Unit 4 with respect to cell signaling. • Gaseous exchange hemoglobin, myoglobin, their behavior with oxygen like left and right shift.

15. Unit – 7 System Psychology – Animal • Kidney filtration system, structure, and function of different parts of a nephron, regulation of water balance. • Sense organs – structure and function of different parts of the ear. • Reproduction-hormones in processes such as gametogenesis and ovulation.

16. Unit 8 – Inheritance Biology • Different genetic crosses, pedigree, ABO blood grouping, multiple genes, complementation, mitotic and meiotic non-disjunction, tetrad analysis • Mutations (mutational studies based questions expected) which can be also covered under Unit 3. • Microbial genetics and interrupted mating experiments, (Hfr mapping, methods of genetic transfers – transformation, conjugation, transduction and sex-duction, mapping genes by interrupted mating).

17. Unit 8 – Inheritance Biology • Mendelian ratios, their statistics, terms like codominance, incomplete dominance, pleiotropy, genomic imprinting, penetrance, expressivity, phenocopy, linkage, crossing over, sex linkage, sex limited and sex influenced characters, maternal inheritance and various gene interactions

18. Unit – 9 Diversity of Life Forms • Different protozoan and bacterial diseases. • alpha-beta-gamma taxonomy. • binomial nomenclature. • The evolutionary relationships among taxa (graphical or phylogenetic tree, common ancestor based questions expected). • Hierarchical taxa. • common parasite and pathogens for different hosts.

19. Unit – 10 Ecological Principles • Rules in Ecology like Bergmann’s rule, Allen’s rule, Gloger’s rule, Yoda’s law. • Pyramids of energy and population, thermal stratification in lentic ecosystem • Population Ecology – r and k selection, Hardy Weinberg Law, gene pool, Concepts and rate of change in gene frequency through natural selection, survivorship curves, population characteristics and regulation, population growth curves, metapopulation, terms like demes, dispersal, interdemic extinction, age-structured population are important.

20. Unit – 10 Ecological Principles • The structure of an ecological organization, like organisms, population, community, ecosystem, biomes, and biosphere. It is required to have a good knowledge of the major biomes of the world. • Basic Ecology: Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene P. Odum. • Biosphere reserves and sanctuaries in different states of India, the difference between adaptation and acclimatization, recent concerns like anthropological activities, global warming, environmental pollution, monitoring, its effects on biodiversity, Project Tiger. • Structure and components of different types of ecosystems like terrestrial, forest, grassland and aquatic.

21. Unit – 11 Evolution and Behavior • Phylogenetic tree and cladogram, molecular evolution, molecular divergence, clocks, tools, protein, and nucleotide gene analysis, new protein or gene origin, duplication, divergence. • The concept of speciation types such as allopatric, parapatric and sympatric • Genetic drift changes through natural selection. • Ensure you know all the types of selection like directional, stabilizing and disruptive • Concept clarity should be there about the founder’s effect and bottleneck effect

22. Unit – 11 Evolution and Behavior • Natural selection – Lamarck concept, Darwinism, adaptation, variation, struggle, fitness, the spontaneity of mutation. • Geological time scale – Ontology, evolutionary history, Major events in different eras, periods, epochs. You can use some mnemonic code to memorize them. • Concept of Oparin and Haldane; Experiment of Miller. • Adaptive radiation, endosymbiotic theory.

23. Unit – 12 Applied Biology • Various bioresources, and uses in biodiversity, bioremediation and phytoremediation, purpose and the different organisms involved. • You may expect some experimental questions on marker-assisted selection breeding of qualitative and quantitative traits or for disease resistance in plant breeding. • Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer process. • Gene therapy. • Different tissue culture requirements for both plants and animals. • Biosensors.

24. Unit 13 – Methods in Biology • mmunological techniques such as ELISA, RIA, western blot, immunoprecipitation, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence microscopy, FISH and GISH. • T-test, X2 test • Recombinant DNA technology: RNA, DNA and proteins isolation, separation and analytical techniques (1D and 2D gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing gels), cloning, • Recombinant protein expression using various bacterial, animal and plant vectors (cosmid, BAC and YAC vectors), genomic and cDNA libraries.

25. Unit 13 – Methods in Biology • Statistical Methods – Mainly questions will be asked from probability distributions such as Binomial, Poisson and normal. • Biophysical methods such as UV/visible, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, NMR, ESR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, NMR, different types of mass spectrometry. • Electrophysiological methods – Single neuron recording, patch-clamp recording, ECG, Brain activity recording, PET, MRI, fMRI, CAT.

26. Thank You!