GATE

GATE BT Syllabus 2025: Biotechnology

February 24, 2015

GATE 2025 Highlights

GATE 2025 Conducting Body	IIT, Roorkee
GATE 2025 Exam Date	1, 2, 8, 9 February, 2025
GATE 2025 Total Subjects	30
GATE 2025 Exam Mode	ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT)
GATE 2025 Exam Duration	3 hours (180 minutes)
GATE 2025 Total Questions	10 (GA) + 55 (subject)= 65
GATE 2025 Total Marks	100
GATE 2025 Question Type	MCQ, MSQ, NAT

GATE Biotechnology Paper Pattern 2024

Paper Sections	Marks Distribution
Subject Questions	72% of the total marks.
Engineering Mathemetics	13% of the total marks.
General Aptitude	15% of the total marks.

GATE Biotechnology Engineering Exam Pattern Details 2024

Particulars	Details
Mode of Exam	Online
Number of Questions	65
Duration of Exam	3 hours
Pattern of Questions	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) Numerical Answer Type Questions (NAT)
Marking Scheme	For MCQ’s -Test Paper carry 1 mark and 2 marks for questions with 13 and 23 negative marking for incorrect answers respectively. For NAT – No negative marking.
Number of Sections	Section 1- General Aptitude Section 2 – Engineering Mathematics and Core Discipline Questions.
Topic wise weightage	General Aptitude – 15% Engineering Mathematics – 15% Core Discipline Questions – 70%

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus 2024 PDF

General Aptitude Syllabus (Common to all papers) [pdf]	Download
GATE Syllabus for Biotechnology (BT) [pdf]	Download

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus for General Aptitude 2024

Topics	Syllabus
Verbal Aptitude	English grammar Vocabularies Reading and comprehension Narrative sequencing
Quantitative Aptitude	Data interpretation 2 & 3-dimensional plots Maps & tables Numerical computation & estimation that includes ratios, percentages, powers, exponents & logarithms Permutations & combinations Mensuration & geometry Elementary statistics & probability
Analytical Aptitude	Logic: Deduction & induction Analogy Numerical relations & reasoning
Spatial Aptitude	Transformation of shapes like translation, mirroring , rotation & scaling Assembling & grouping Paper folding, cutting, and patterns (2 & 3 dimensions)

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus for Engineering Mathematics 2024

Topic	Subtopics
Linear Algebra	Matrices and determinants Systems of linear equations Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
Calculus	Limits, continuity, and differentiability Partial derivatives, maxima and minima Sequences and series Test for convergence
Differential Equations	Linear and nonlinear first-order ODEs, higher-order ODEs with constant coefficients Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations Laplace transforms
Probability and 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 by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rules Single step method for differential equations

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus for Core Subjects 2024

Subject	Topics	Subtopics
General Biotechnology	Biochemistry	Biomolecules– structure and function Biological membranes molecular motors action potential and transport processes Basic concepts and regulation of the metabolism of carbohydrates lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids photosynthesis, respiration and electron transport chain. Enzymes– Classification, catalytic and regulatory strategies. Enzyme inhibition– competitive non-competitive and uncompetitive inhibition.
	Microbiology	Bacterial classification and diversity Microbial Ecology- microbes in marine Freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems Microbial interactions Viruses- structure and classification Methods in microbiology Microbial growth and nutrition Nitrogen fixation Microbial diseases and host-pathogen interactions Antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance.
	Immunology	Innate and adaptive immunity humoral and cell-mediated immunity Antibody structure and function Molecular basis of antibody diversity T cell, and B cell development Antigen-antibody reaction complement, Primary and secondary lymphoid organs Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Antigen processing and presentation Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody Regulation of immune response Immune tolerance, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity Graft versus host reaction, Immunization and vaccines.
Recombinant DNA Technology and Other Tools in Biotechnology	Recombinant DNA Technology	Restriction and modification enzymes Vectors – plasmids bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids Ti plasmid, bacterial and yeast artificial chromosomes Expression vectors, cDNA and genomic DNA library Gene isolation and cloning, strategies for the production of recombinant proteins Transposons and gene targeting
	Molecular tools	Polymerase chain reaction DNA/RNA labeling and sequencing Southern and northern blotting, In-situ hybridization DNA fingerprinting RAPD RFLP Site-directed mutagenesis Gene transfer technologies CRISPR-Cas Biosensing, and biosensors.
	Analytical tools	Principles of microscopy– light, electron, fluorescent and confocal Principles of spectroscopy– UV, visible, CD, IR, fluorescence FT-IR, MS, NMR Electrophoresis Micro-arrays Enzymatic assays Immunoassays– ELISA, RIA, immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting Flow cytometry, Whole-genome, and ChIP-sequencing
	Computational tools	Bioinformatics resources and search tools Sequence and structure databases Sequence analysis– sequence file formats, scoring matrices, alignment, phylogeny Genomics, proteomics, metabolomics Gene prediction Functional annotation Secondary structure and 3D structure prediction Knowledge discovery in Biochemical databases, Metagenomics, Metabolic Engineering, and Systems Biology.
Genetics and Cellular Biology	Genetics and Evolutionary Biology:	Mendelian inheritance Gene interaction Complementation Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping Extrachromosomal inheritance Microbial genetics– transformation, transduction and conjugation Horizontal gene transfer and transposable elements Chromosomal variation, Genetic disorders, Population genetics, Epigenetics, Selection and inheritance, Adaptive and neutral evolution, Genetic drift, Species, and speciation.
	Cell Biology	Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure, cell cycle, and cell growth control, Cell-cell communication, Cell signaling, and signal transduction, Post-translational modifications, Protein trafficking, Cell death, and autophagy, Extracellular matrix.
	Molecular Biology	Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes, Mutations and mutagenesis, Regulation of gene expression, Nucleic acid– replication, transcription, splicing, translation and their regulatory mechanisms, Non-coding and microRNA, RNA interference, DNA damage, and repair.
Fundamentals of Biological Engineering	Engineering Principles applied to biological systems	Material and energy balances for reactive and non-reactive systems, recycle, bypass and purge processes, Stoichiometry of growth and product formation, Degree of reduction, electron balance, theoretical oxygen demand.
	Classical thermodynamics and Bioenergetics	Laws of thermodynamics, Solution thermodynamics, Phase equilibria, reaction equilibria, Ligand binding, Membrane potential, Energetics of metabolic pathways, oxidation and reduction reactions.
	Transport Processes	Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, fluid flow– laminar and turbulent, Mixing in bioreactors, mixing time, Molecular diffusion and film theory, Oxygen transfer and uptake in a bioreactor, kLa and its measurement, Conductive and convective heat transfer, LMTD, overall heat transfer coefficient, Heat exchangers.
Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology Syllabus	Bioreaction Engineering	Rate law, zero and first-order kinetics, Ideal reactors– batch, mixed flow, and plug flow, Enzyme immobilization, diffusion effects – Thiele modulus, effectiveness factor, Damkoehler number, Kinetics of cell growth, substrate utilization and product formation, Structured and unstructured models, batch, fed-batch, and continuous processes, Microbial and enzyme reactors, Optimization and scale-up.
	Upstream and Downstream Processing	Media formulation and optimization, Sterilization of air and media, Filtration– membrane filtration, ultrafiltration, Centrifugation – high speed and ultra, Cell disruption, Principles of chromatography– ion exchange, gel filtration, hydrophobic interaction, affinity, GC, HPLC and FPLC, extraction, adsorption, and drying.
	Instrumentation and Process Control	Pressure, temperature, and flow measurement devices, Valves, First-order and second-order systems, Feedback and feedforward control, Types of controllers– proportional, derivative, and integral control, tuning of controllers.
Plant, Animal, and Microbial Biotechnology Syllabus	Plants	Totipotency- Regeneration of plants, Plant growth regulators and elicitors, Tissue culture and cell suspension culture system – methodology, the kinetics of growth and nutrient optimization, Production of secondary metabolites, Hairy root culture, Plant products of industrial importance, Artificial seeds, Somaclonal variation, Protoplast, protoplast fusion – somatic hybrid and cybrid, Transgenic plants– direct and indirect methods of gene transfer techniques, Selection marker and reporter gene, Plastid transformation.
Plant, Animal, and Microbial Biotechnology Syllabus	Animals	Culture media composition and growth conditions, Animal cell and tissue preservation, Anchorage and non-anchorage dependent cell culture, Kinetics of cell growth, Micro & macro-carrier culture, Hybridoma technology, Stem cell technology, Animal cloning, Transgenic animals, Knock-out and knock-in animals.
—	Microbes	Production of biomass and primary/secondary metabolites – Biofuels, bioplastic, industrial enzymes, antibiotics, Large scale production and purification of recombinant proteins and metabolites, Clinical-, food- and industrial- microbiology, Screening strategies for new products.

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus Weightage 2024

Important Topics	Expected Marks/ Weightage
General Aptitude	10
Engineering Mathematics	10-15
Plant and Animal Biotechnology	15-20
Bioprocess Engineering	10-15
General Biotechnology	20-25

GATE Biotechnology Engineering Guidance

GATE Biotechnology Syllabus & Exam Pattern FAQs

What is the GATE Biotechnology exam?

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) Biotechnology exam is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to postgraduate programs in Biotechnology and related fields at various institutes across India.

What is the syllabus for GATE Biotechnology?

The GATE Biotechnology syllabus covers various topics such as Microbiology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Process Biotechnology, Bioprocess Engineering, Plant and Animal Biotechnology, etc.

You can check the official website of GATE for a detailed syllabus.

What is the exam pattern for GATE Biotechnology?

The GATE Biotechnology exam is a computer-based test that consists of 65 questions worth a total of 100 marks.

The paper has two types of questions - multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and numerical answer type (NAT) questions. The duration of the exam is 3 hours.

How should I prepare for GATE Biotechnology?

To prepare for GATE Biotechnology, you should follow a structured study plan, make notes, and practice solving previous year question papers and mock tests.

You should also refer to standard textbooks and study materials, attend online courses, and seek guidance from experts or mentors.

What are the best books for GATE Biotechnology preparation?

Some of the best books for GATE Biotechnology preparation are:

Biotechnology - Satyanarayana
Molecular Biology of the Cell - Bruce Alberts
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry - David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox
Principles of Genetics - Gardner, Simmons, Snustad
Biochemical Engineering - James M. Lee

Is there any negative marking in the GATE Biotechnology exam?

Yes, there is negative marking in the GATE Biotechnology exam for MCQs. For every incorrect answer to 1-mark questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted, and for every incorrect answer to 2-mark questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted.

Can I use a calculator during the GATE Biotechnology exam?

Yes, a virtual calculator will be provided on the computer screen during the GATE Biotechnology exam.

How is the GATE Biotechnology exam score calculated?

The GATE Biotechnology exam score is calculated on the basis of the number of correct answers and incorrect answers.

For MCQs, 1 or 2 marks are awarded for a correct answer, and 1/3 or 2/3 marks are deducted for an incorrect answer.

For NAT questions, 1 or 2 marks are awarded for a correct answer, and there is no negative marking for incorrect answers.

What is the qualifying cutoff for the GATE Biotechnology exam?

The qualifying cutoff for the GATE Biotechnology exam varies from year to year and is decided by the exam conducting authority.

Generally, the cutoff for General category candidates is around 25-30 marks out of 100, and for SC/ST/OBC/PwD candidates, it is around 20-25 marks out of 100.

What are the benefits of qualifying GATE Biotechnology?

Qualifying GATE Biotechnology opens up various opportunities such as admission to postgraduate programs in Biotechnology, scholarships, fellowships, and job opportunities in the public and private sectors.

GATE scores are also accepted by some foreign universities for admission to their postgraduate programs.

GATE Total Information & Guidance

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