GATE Exam Syllabus 2020 – for Microbiology
Microbiology (XL-S)
GATE Microbiology Syllabus: The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), an all India level examination administered and conducted in eight zones across the country by the GATE Committee. Here we bring you the Gate 2020 Exam Syllabus for Microbiology subject. Check out the GATE Syllabus for Microbiology and other important aspects of the GATE Exam Microbiology Syllabus.
Section 1: Historical Perspective
Discovery of microbial world; Landmark discoveries relevant to the field of microbiology; Controversy over spontaneous generation; Role of microorganisms in transformation of organic matter and in the causation of diseases.
Section 2: Methods in Microbiology
Pure culture techniques; Theory and practice of sterilization; Principles of microbial nutrition; Enrichment culture techniques for isolation of microorganisms; Light-, phase contrast- and electron microscopy.
Section 3: Microbial Taxonomy and Diversity
Bacteria, Archea and their broad classification; Eukaryotic microbes: Yeasts, molds and protozoa; Viruses and their classification; Molecular approaches to microbial taxonomy.
Section 4: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells: Structure and Function
Prokaryotic Cells: cell walls, cell membranes, mechanisms of solute transport across membranes, Flagella and Pili, Capsules, Cell inclusions like endospores and gas vesicles; Eukaryotic cell organelles: Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria and chloroplasts.
Section 5: Microbial Growth
Definition of growth; Growth curve; Mathematical expression of exponential growth phase; Measurement of growth and growth yields; Synchronous growth; Continuous culture; Effect of environmental factors on growth.
Section 6: Control of Micro-organisms
Effect of physical and chemical agents; Evaluation of effectiveness of antimicrobial agents.
Section 7: Microbial Metabolism
Energetics: redox reactions and electron carriers; An overview of metabolism; Glycolysis; Pentose-phosphate pathway; Entner-Doudoroff pathway; Glyoxalate pathway; The citric acid cycle; Fermentation; Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Chemolithotrophy; Photosynthesis; Calvin cycle; Biosynthetic pathway for fatty acids synthesis; Common regulatory mechanisms in synthesis of amino acids; Regulation of major metabolic pathways.
Section 8: Microbial Diseases and Host Pathogen Interaction
Normal microbiota; Classification of infectious diseases; Reservoirs of infection; Nosocomial infection; Emerging infectious diseases; Mechanism of microbial pathogenicity; Nonspecific defense of host; Antigens and antibodies; Humoral and cell mediated immunity; Vaccines; Immune deficiency; Human diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi.
Section 8: Chemotherapy/Antibiotics
General characteristics of antimicrobial drugs; Antibiotics: Classification, mode of action and resistance; Antifungal and antiviral drugs.
Section 9: Microbial Genetics
Types of mutation; UV and chemical mutagens; Selection of mutants; Ames test for mutagenesis; Bacterial genetic system: transformation, conjugation, transduction, recombination, plasmids, transposons; DNA repair; Regulation of gene expression: repression and induction; Operon model; Bacterial genome with special reference to E.coli; Phage λ and its life cycle; RNA phages; RNA viruses; Retroviruses; Basic concept of microbial genomics.
Section 10: Microbial Ecology
Microbial interactions; Carbon, sulphur and nitrogen cycles; Soil microorganisms associated with vascular plants.