1) DIVERSITY IN THE LIVING WORLD:
The living world: What is living? Diversity in the living world; Taxonomic categories and taxonomical aids. Biological Classification: Five kingdom
classification – Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia, Three domains of life (six kingdom classification), Viruses, Viroids, Prions & Lichens.
Science of plants – Botany: Origin, Development, Scope of Botany and Branches of Botany. Plant Kingdom: Salient features, classification and
alternation of generations of the plants of the following groups – Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms.
2) STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION IN PLANTS- MORPHOLOGY:
Morphology of flowering Plants
Vegetative: Parts of a typical Angiospermic plant; Vegetative morphology and modifications- Root, Stem and Leaf- types; Venation, Phyllotaxy.
Reproductive: Inflorescence – Racemose, Cymose and special types ( in brief).
Flower: Parts of a flower and their detailed description; Aestivation, Placentation.
Fruits: Types- True, False and parthenocarpic fruits.
3) REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS:
Modes of Reproduction: Asexual reproduction, binary fission, Sporulation, budding, fragmentation, vegetative propagation in plants,
Sexual reproduction, Overview of angiosperm life cycle. Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants: Stamen, microsporangium, pollen grain. Pistil,
megasporangium (ovule) and embryo sac; Development of male and female gametophytes. Pollination – Types, agents , Out breeding devices and
Pollen – Pistil interaction. Double Fertilization; Post fertilisation events: Development of endosperm and embryo; development of seed, Structure of
Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous seeds, Significance of fruit and seed. Special modes – Apomixis, parthenocarpy, polyembryony.
4) PLANT SYSTEMATICS:
Taxonomy of angiosperms: Introduction. Types of Systems of classification (In brief). Semi- Technical description of a typical flowering plant.
Description of Families: Fabaceae, Solanaceae and Liliaceae.
5) CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION:
Cell – The Unit of Life: Cell- Cell theory and cell as the basic unit of life- overview of the cell. Prokaryotic and Eukoryotic cells , Ultra Structure of Plant
cell (structure in detail and functions in brief), Cell membrane, Cell wall, Cell organelles: Endoplasmic reticulum, Mitochondria, Plastids, Ribosomes,
Golgi bodies, Vacuoles, Lysosomes, Microbodies, Centrosome and Centriole, Cilia, Flagella, Cytoskeleton and Nucleus. Chromosomes: Number,
structural organization; Nucleosome. Biomolecules: Structure and function of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids and Nucleic acids. Cell cycle and Cell
Division: Cell cycle, Mitosis, Meiosis – significance.
6) INTERNAL ORGANISATION OF PLANTS:
Histology and Anatomy of Flowering Plants: Tissues – Types, structure and functions: Meristematic; Permanent tissues – Simple and Complex
tissues. Tissue systems – Types, structure and function: Epidermal, Ground and Vascular tissue systems. Anatomy of Dicotyledonous and
Monocotyledonous plants – Root, Stem and Leaf. Secondary growth in Dicot stem and Dicot root.
7) PLANT ECOLOGY:
Ecological Adaptations, Succession and Ecological Services: Introduction. Plant communities and Ecological adaptations: Hydrophytes,
Mesophytes and Xerophytes. Plant succession. Ecological services – Carbon fixation, Oxygen release and pollination (in brief).
8) PLANT PHYSIOLOGY:
Transport in Plants: Means of Transport- Diffusion, Facilitated Diffusion, Passive symports and antiports, Active Transport, Comparison of
Different Transport Processes, Plant-Water Relations- Water Potential, Osmosis, Plasmolysis, Imbibition, Long Distance Transport of Water-
Water Movement up a Plant, Root Pressure, Transpiration pull, Transpiration- Opening and Closing of Stomata, Transpiration and
Photosynthesis, a compramise Uptake and Transport of Mineral Nutrients- Uptake of Mineral Ions, Translocation of Mineral Ions, Phloem transport:
Flow from Source to Sink-The Pressure Flow or Mass Flow Hypothesis. Mineral Nutrition: Methods to Study the Mineral Requirements of Plants,
Essential Mineral Elements-Criteria for Essentiality, Macronutrients, Micronutrients, Role of Macro- and Micronutrients, Deficiency Symptoms of
Essential Elements, Toxicity of Micronutrients, Mechanism of Absorption of Elements, Translocation of Solutes, Soil as Reservoir of Essential
Elements, Metabolism of Nitrogen-Nitrogen Cycle, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Symbiotic nitrogen fixation, Nodule Formation. Enzymes: Chemical
Reactions, Enzymatic Conversions, Nature of Enzyme Action, Factors Affecting Enzyme Activity, Temperature and pH, Concentration of
Substrate, Classification and Nomenclature of Enzymes, Co-factors. Photosynthesis in Higher Plants: Early Experiments, Site of Photosynthesis,
Pigments Involved in Photosynthesis, Light Reaction, The Electron Transport-Splitting of Water, Cyclic and Noncyclic Photo-phosphorylation,
Chemiosmotic Hypothesis, Biosynthetic phase- The Primary Acceptor of CO2, The Calvin Cycle, The C4 Pathway, Photorespiration, Factors
affecting Photosynthesis. Respiration of Plants: Cellular respiration, Glycolysis, Fermentation, Aerobic Respiration Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle,
Electron Transport System (ETS) and Oxidative Phosphorylation, The Respiratory Balance Sheet, Amphibolic Pathway, Respiratory Quotient.
Plant Growth and Development: Growth- Plant Growth, Phases of Growth, Growth Rates, Conditions for Growth, Differentiation,
Dedifferentiation and Redifferentiation, Development, Plant Growth Regulators- Physiological Effects of Plant Growth Regulators,
Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinins, Ethylene, Abscisic acid, Seed Dormancy, Photoperiodism, Vernalisation.
9) MICROBIOLOGY:
Bacteria: Morphology of Bacteria, Bacterial cell structure – Nutrition, Reproduction-Sexual Reproduction, Conjugation, Transformation, Transduction,
The importance of Bacteria to Humans. Viruses: Discovery, Classification of Viruses, structure of Viruses, Multiplication of Bacteriophages – The
lytic cycle, The Lysogenic Cycle, Viral diseases in Plants, Viral diseases in Humans.
10) GENETICS:
Principles of Inheritance and Variation: Mendel’s Experiments, Inheritance of one gene (Monohybrid Cross)-Back cross and Test cross,
Law of Dominance, Law of Segregation or Law of purity of gametes, Deviations from Mendelian concept of dominance Incomplete Dominance,
Co-dominance, Explanation of the concept of dominance, Inheritance of two genes- Law of Independent Assortment, Chromosomal Theory of
Inheritance, Linkage and Recombination, Mutations, Significance of mutations.
11) MOLECULAR BIOLOGY:
Molecular Basis of inheritance: The DNA- Structure of Polynucleotide Chain, Packaging of DNA Helix, The Search for Genetic Material,
Transforming Principle, Biochemical Characterisation of Transforming Principle, The Genetic Material is DNA, Properties of Genetic Material (DNA
versus RNA), RNA World, Replication – The Experimental Proof, The Machinery and the Enzymes, Transcription-Transcription Unit, Transcription Unit
and the Gene, Types of RNA and the process of Transcription, Genetic Code-Mutations and Genetic Code, tRNA- the Adapter Molecule, Translation,
Regulation of Gene Expression-The Lac operon.
12) Biotechnology:
Principles and processes of Biotechnology: Principles of Biotechnology-Construction of the first artificial recombinant DNA molecule, Tools
of Recombinant DNA Technology-Restriction Enzymes, Cloning Vectors, Competent Host (For Transformation with Recombinant DNA), Processes of
Recombinant DNA Technology- Isolation of the Genetic Material (DNA), Cutting of DNA at Specific Locations, Separation and isolation of DNA
fragments, Insertion of isolated gene into a suitable vector, Amplification of Gene of Interest using PCR, Insertion of Recombinant DNA into the Host,
Cell/Organism, Selection of Transformed host cells, Obtaining the Foreign Gene Product, Downstream Processing. Biotechnology and its
applications: Biotechnological Applications In Agriculture-Bt Cotton, Pest Resistant Plants, Other applications of Biotechnology, Insulin,
Gene therapy, Molecular Diagnosis, ELISA, DNA fingerprinting, Transgenic plants, Bio-safety and Ethical issues- Biopiracy.
13) PLANTS, MICROBES AND HUMAN WELFARE:
Strategies for enhancement in food production : Plant Breeding- What is Plant Breeding?, Wheat and Rice, Sugarcane, Millets, Plant Breeding for
Disease Resistance, Methods of breeding for disease resistance, Mutation, Plant Breeding for Developing Resistance to Insect Pests, Plant
Breeding for Improved Food Quality, Single Cell Protein (SCP), Tissue Culture. Microbes in Human Welfare: Microbes in Household Products,
Microbes in Industrial Products-Fermented Beverages, Antibiotics, Chemicals, Enzymes and other Bioactive Molecules, Microbes in Sewage
Treatment, Primary treatment, Secondary treatment or Biological treatment, Microbes in Production of Biogas, Microbes as Biocontrol Agents,
Biological control of pests and diseases, Microbes as Biofertilisers, Challenges posed by Microbes.
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