Covers molecular biology, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, and bioprocess engineering, suitable for candidates interested in biotechnological research and industry.

GATE Biotechnology

Official 2025 syllabus extracted from https://gate2025.iitr.ac.in/doc/2025/GATE%20_BT_2025_Syllabus.pdf

Engineering Mathematics

Matrices and determinants

Systems of linear equations

Eigen values and eigen vectors

Linear Algebra

Limits, continuity, differentiability

Partial derivatives

Maxima and minima

Sequences and series

Tests for convergence

Calculus

Linear and nonlinear first order ODEs

Higher order ODEs with constant coefficients

Cauchy's and Euler's equations

Laplace transforms

Differential Equations

Mean, median, mode, standard deviation

Random variables

Poisson, normal, binomial distributions

Correlation and regression

Probability and Statistics

Solution of linear and nonlinear algebraic equations

Trapezoidal and Simpson rule

Single step methods for ODEs

Numerical Methods

General Biology

Biomolecules: structure and function

Biological membranes: structure, channels, pumps

Molecular motors

Action potential and transport processes

Metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, nucleic acids

Photosynthesis

Respiration and electron transport chain

Enzyme classification and regulation

Michaelis-Menten kinetics

Competitive, non-competitive, uncompetitive inhibition

Biochemistry

Bacterial classification and diversity

Microbial ecology

Microbial interactions

Virus structure and classification

Methods in microbiology

Microbial growth and nutrition

Nitrogen fixation

Microbial diseases and host-pathogen interactions

Antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance

Microbiology

Innate and adaptive immunity

Humoral and cell-mediated immunity

Antibody structure and function

Antibody diversity

T cell and B cell development

Antigen-antibody reaction

Complement system

Primary and secondary lymphoid organs

Antigen processing and presentation

Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies

Immune regulation and tolerance

Hypersensitivity

Autoimmunity

Graft versus host reaction

Immunization and vaccines

Immunology

Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Mendelian inheritance

Gene interaction

Complementation

Linkage and recombination

Chromosome mapping

Extra-chromosomal inheritance

Transformation, transduction, conjugation

Horizontal gene transfer

Transposable elements

Chromosomal variation

Genetic disorders

Population genetics

Epigenetics

Adaptive and neutral evolution

Genetic drift

Species and speciation

Genetics and Evolutionary Biology

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure

Cell cycle and growth control

Cell-cell communication

Cell signalling and signal transduction

Post-translational modifications

Protein trafficking

Cell death and autophagy

Extracellular matrix

Cell Biology

Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes

Mutations and mutagenesis

Regulation of gene expression

DNA replication

Transcription

Splicing

Translation

Non-coding and micro RNA

RNA interference

DNA damage and repair

Molecular Biology

Fundamentals of Biological Engineering

Material and energy balances

Recycle, bypass, purge processes

Stoichiometry of growth and product formation

Degree of reduction

Electron balance

Theoretical oxygen demand

Engineering Principles

Laws of thermodynamics

Solution thermodynamics

Phase and reaction equilibria

Ligand binding

Membrane potential

Energetics of metabolic pathways

Thermodynamics and Bioenergetics

Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids

Laminar and turbulent fluid flow

Mixing in bioreactors

Molecular diffusion and film theory

Oxygen transfer and uptake

kLa measurement

Conductive and convective heat transfer

LMTD and overall heat transfer coefficient

Heat exchangers

Transport Processes

Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology

Rate law

Zero and first order kinetics

Batch, mixed flow, plug flow reactors

Enzyme immobilization

Thiele modulus, effectiveness factor, Damkoehler number

Kinetics of cell growth and product formation

Structured and unstructured models

Batch, fed-batch, continuous processes

Microbial and enzyme reactors

Scale up

Bioreaction Engineering

Media formulation and optimization

Sterilization of air and media

Membrane filtration, ultrafiltration

Centrifugation

Cell disruption

Chromatography: ion exchange, gel filtration, hydrophobic interaction, affinity, GC, HPLC, FPLC

Extraction, adsorption, drying

Upstream and Downstream Processing

Pressure, temperature, flow measurement

Valves

First and second order systems

Feedback and feed-forward control

P, PI, PID controllers and tuning

Instrumentation and Process Control

Plant, Animal and Microbial Biotechnology

Totipotency

Plant regeneration

Plant growth regulators and elicitors

Tissue culture and cell suspension culture

Secondary metabolite production

Hairy root culture

Artificial seeds

Somaclonal variation

Protoplast fusion: somatic hybrid and cybrid

Transgenic plants: direct and indirect gene transfer

Plastid transformation

Plants

Culture media composition and growth conditions

Cell and tissue preservation

Anchorage and non-anchorage dependent culture

Micro and macro-carrier culture

Hybridoma technology

Stem cell technology

Animal cloning

Transgenic animals

Knock-out and knock-in animals

Animals

Biofuels, bioplastics, industrial enzymes, antibiotics

Large-scale recombinant protein purification

Clinical, food, industrial microbiology

Screening strategies for new products

Microbes

Recombinant DNA Technology and Other Tools

Restriction and modification enzymes

Plasmids, bacteriophages, viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid

Bacterial and yeast artificial chromosomes

Expression vectors

cDNA and genomic libraries

Gene isolation and cloning

Recombinant protein production

Transposons and gene targeting

Recombinant DNA Technology

DNA/RNA labelling and sequencing

Southern and northern blotting

In-situ hybridization

DNA fingerprinting, RAPD, RFLP

Site-directed mutagenesis

Gene transfer technologies

CRISPR-Cas

Biosensors

Molecular Tools

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus 2025, 2026 and more: Subjects, Topics, and What to Study