Unit I 

Algae : General account of algology. Contributions of Indian Phycologists:

(M.O.Parthasarathy,V.Desikachary,V.KrishnamurthyandV.S.Sundaralingam). Classification of algae by F.E. Fritsch (1935-45). Algae of diverse habitats, Range of thallus organization in algae. Reproduction (vegetative, asexual and sexual) and life cycle patterns of algae. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae). Economic importance of algae. 

Fungi: 

 General Characteristics, Contributions of Indian Mycologists (C.V.Subramanian).  Classification of Fungi by Alexopoulos and Mims  (1979). Heterothallism and  para-sexuality in fungi. Sex hormones in fungi. Reproduction in fungi (asexual  and  sexual).  Spore  dispersal  mechanism  in  fungi.  Mycorrhizae.  Fossil  fungi,  Economic importance of fungi.Mushroom cultivation. 

Lichens: 

Classification  of lichens  based  on Morphology,  habitat, internal  structure  and  fungal  partner.  Interrelationship  of  phycobionts and mycobionts.Structure and  reproduction  in Ascolichens,  Basiodiolichens  and  Deuterolichens.  Lichens  as  indicators of pollution. Economic importance of lichens. 

Bryophytes: 

General  feature, Classification  of Bryophytes  (Proskauer,  1957). Distribution,  Morphology,  Anatomy,  Reproduction  and  Life  cycle  of  Marchantiales,  Jungermanniales, Anthocerotales and Polytrichales. Spore dispersal mechanisms  and germination pattern. Evolutionary trends in Sporophytes and gametophytes  of bryophytes. Fossil bryophytes. Economic importance of bryophytes. 

Unit II Pteridophytes: 

Classification of Pteridophytes (Reimer, 1954). Stelar evolution. Telome theory.  Sorus  –  Origin,  types  and  sporangial  development.  Heterospory  and  seed  habit  – Alternation  of  generations. Apogamy, Apospory  and  parthenogenesis  in  Pteridophytes.  Comparative  morphology,  anatomy,  reproduction  and  evolutionary studies of the following groups: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Sphenopsida  and Pteropsida. Economic importance of Pteridophytes. 

Gymnosperms: 

General  character,  classification  of  gymnosperms  (Sporne,  1974).  Origin  and  Evolution  of  gymnosperms. Comparative  study  of  vegetative,  anatomical  and  reproductive  characteristics  of  Cycadales,  Ginkgoales,  Coniferales,  Gnetales.  Economic importance of gymnosperms.  

Paleobotany: 

Concept of Paleobotany: Geological time scale. Contributions of Birbal Sahni,  Technique  for  paleobotanical  studies.  Fossilization  process,  Types  of  fossils,  the fossil records: systematic reconstruction and nomenclature of fossil plants,  Determination of Age of Fossils, Fossil Pteridophytes: Rhynia, Sphenophyllum,  Lepidocarpon, Botryopteris. Fossil Gymnosperms: Williamsonia and Cordaites.  

Unit III Morphology: 

The plant body. Root: Structure and functions. Root modification. Stem: aerial  and  underground  stem  modifications.  Leaf:  Types,  phyllotaxy,  venations  and  leaf modifications. Inflorescence: Types. Flower: Floral whorls, sex, symmetry,  Aestivation, Fusion. Ovary position, placentation. Fruits: Types. Seeds: Parts of  seeds, Types, seed dispersal.  

Taxonomy and Systematics: 

Objectives of plant systematics, Concepts of Taxonomic hierarchy. Species concepts. Botanical nomenclature: principle, Rules and Recommendation of ICN. Systems of classification: Linnaeus, Bentham and Hooker, Engler and Prantl, Takhtajan, Angiosperm phylogeny Groups (APG systems). Modern Trends in Plant Taxonomy  – DNA Bar coding and Molecular Systematics  – Cladistic Methodology – Taxonomic keys, Botanical Gardens, BSI, Herbarium techniques and Application. Virtual/digital Herbarium. Systematic Position, salient features and economic importance ofthe following families:Nymphaeaceae,Magnoliaceae, Aristolochiaceae, Arecaceae, Orchidaceae, Commelinaceae, Zingiberaceae, Cyperaceae, Menispermaceae, Combretaceae, Lythraceae, Moraceae, Rosaceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Portulacaceae, Boraginaceae, Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Pedaliaceae and Convolvulaceae.

Economic Botany: 

General account on utilization of selected crop plants: (i) Cereals and millets (ii) Pulses (iii) Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts (iv) Cosmetics plants (v) Oil seeds (vi) Sugar yielding plants, (vii) Spices and condiments, (viii) Fibre yielding Plants (ix) Timber yielding plants (x) Resins, gums and latex (xi) Essential oils (xii) Beverages, (xiii) Dyes, (xiv) Plants used as avenue trees for shade, pollution control and aesthetics and (xv) Energy plantation – uses of Casuarina.  

Medicinal Botany: 

Traditional  medicinal  systems  in  India.  Importance  of  ethnobotany  in  Indian  context.  Active  principles,  biochemical  properties  and  medicinal  uses  of  Phyllanthus amarus, Justicia adhatoda, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma  longa, Cannabis sativa, Glorisa superba, Cymbopogon citratus, Catharanthus  roseus and Rauwolfia serpentina.  

Unit IV Anatomy: 

Classification  of  tissues.  Theories  of  organization  of  shoot,  root  and  floral  meristems. Root and shoot transition. Cambium – Vascular cambium and cork  cambium – origin, development and types. Anomalous thickening in dicot and  monocot stems. Xylem: components, structure. Secondary elements, hard wood,  soft wood, growth ring, heart wood and sap wood, Tyloses, Reaction wood and  Tension  wood.  Patterns  of  secondary  wall  thickening.  Phloem  –  components  and structures. Tissue system: Types and characteristics – Secondary elements,  Secretory  cells  and  tissues:  Structure,  classification  and  significance.  Nodal  anatomy. Leaf: Epidermal tissue, development of stomata, Stomatal types, leaf  anatomy: monocots  and  dicots.  Plant  galls: types,  structure  and  development.  Experimental anatomy – PGR and tissue differentiation. 

Embryology:  

Microsporangium  –  Microsporogenesis, Microspores: morphology, ultrastructure, Microgametogenesis. Pollen wall development, Pollen – Stigma  –  Incompatibility.  Methods  to  overcome  incompatibility.  Megasporangium.  Megagametogenesis:  Female  gametophyte,  Monosporic,  Bisporic  and  Tetrasporic,  Nutrition  of  embryo  sac  and  fertilization.  Pollination: Types  and  pollination  agents  –  Fertilization  and  post  fertilization  events:  Endosperm:  Types. Endosperm haustoria. Cytology and physiology of endosperms. functions  of endosperms. Embryo development in Dicot and Monocot. Polyembryony –  Causes. Apomixis, Apospory and parthenocarpy – Their role in plant improvement  program. Seed development.

Microtechniques: 

Microscopy – Principle and applications, Light microscope: Bright field, Dark  field, Phase contrast microscopy, Fluorescence Microscope, Electron microscope  (TEM  &  SEM).  Microtome:  Types,  Principles  and  operating  mechanisms.  Maceration, Squashes, Smears, Whole mount and clearing techniques. Fixation  and fixatives, dehydration, clearing, infiltration, Embedding, Block making and  sectioning. Stains and staining techniques. 

Unit V Cell Biology: 

Cell structure, organization of prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells. Cell theory, ultrastructureandmolecularorganizationofcellwall,Plasmamembrane,cytoplasm, protoplasm, Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi bodies, plastids, mitochondria, chloroplast, lysosomes, Ribosome, vacuoles, Nucleus. Cell division and cell cycle: Mitosis and meiosis, their regulation, steps in cell cycle and control of cell cycle. Organization of nuclear genome: DNAas genetic material – prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA – chromatin – chromosomes – Gene –Transposon. Replication of DNA and types. 

Molecular Biology: 

Transcription in prokaryotes and eukaryotes (RNA synthesis  –  enzymology  –  signaling) – mechanics of initiation, elongation, termination – post–transcriptional modificationsandRNAsplicing – regulationofgeneexpression (Lac and Tryptophan Operons) – RNA interference (TGS and PTGS) – Translation (genetic code – redundancy and elucidation of base composition – tRNA charging – initiation, elongation and termination)  –  post translational modifications. Molecular Chaperones  –  Heat shock proteins. Bioinformatics: Concepts, scope and applications. 

Unit VI Genetics and Biostatistics: 

Mendelian genetics – Mendel‘s Law of inheritance, non mendelian inheritance,  Gene interactions – complementary genes, Lethal genes, Epistasis, Quantitative  inheritance. Chromosomal basis of inheritance. Gene Linkage and crossing over-  Kinds of linkage, types of crossing over mechanism. Sex determination in plants,  theories of sex determination. Sex linked characters. Multiple alleles and pseudo  alleles. Cytoplasmic inheritance, organelle heredity with reference to chloroplast  and mitochondrial mutants –male sterility in plants. Population Genetics – Gene  pool, Gene Frequencies, Mutation, Selection, Migration, genetic drift, Hardy – Weinberg law. Mutation: Types of Mutation.  Mutagenic agents and their mode  of action.  

Biostatistics: 

principle, scope and application in biological sciences. Standard deviation and coefficient of variation (CV). Test of significance: Z test, t-test and chi square test. probability and distribution. Correlation and regression.

Plant Breeding: 

Domestication and introduction of plants. Origin of cultivated Plants. Vavilov’s center of origin. Organic Agriculture. Conventional Plant Breeding systems: introduction, Selection – Types of selection, selection in self and cross pollinated crops. Hybridization-Hybridization techniques, male sterility, self-incompatibility, heterosis and hybridvigor.Roleofpolyploidyincropimprovement.Greenrevolution, Applications of tissue culture and molecular techniques in plant breeding. 

Unit VII Plant Physiology: 

Solute transport: 

Properties of water, Diffusion, Osmosis and water potential,  mechanism  of  water  absorption.  Translocation  of  water  and  solutes  through  membranes,  Mechanisms  of  loading  and  unloading  of  photo-assimilates.  Transpiration and  stomatal movements. Mineral  nutrition: Role  of Macro and  Micro nutrients. Deficiency symptoms. 

Photosynthesis: 

Light harvesting complexes; photosynthetic pigments, mechanisms of electron  transport;  photo  protective  mechanisms;  CO2  fixation  –  C3,  C4  and  CAM  pathways – Factors affecting photosynthesis.  

Respiration: 

Types of respiration, Glycolysis, Citric acid cycle; electron transport system and  ATP synthesis; photorespiration and its significance. 

Nitrogen metabolism and Secondary metabolites: 

Nitrogen  cycle  and  metabolism,  Biological  Nitrogen  fixation.  Secondary  metabolites:  Biosynthesis  of  terpenes,  flavonoids,  phenols  and  alkaloids  and  their physiological roles.  

Plant Growth Regulators: 

Physiological role and mechanisms of action of auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, Ethylene and abscisic acid. Photobiology and photo morphogenesis: Phytochromes history and discovery, occurrence and distribution;Cryptochromes – photochemical and biochemical properties. Vernalization. Circadian rhythm in plants. Plant Movements – nastic and tropic movements. Seed dormancy: causes and methods to break seed dormancy. Physiology of seed germination.Abscission and Senescence. 

Stress physiology: 

Causes,  mechanisms,  effects  of  plant  responses  and  adaptation  to  biotic  and  abiotic stresses. 

Biochemistry: 

Chemical bonds and their interactions. Water – structure, pH concept – buffer,  Molarity, Molality and Normality. Carbohydrates: Structures and classification.  Lipids:  Structure,  classification  and  properties.  Biosynthesis  and  biological  significance of major lipids. Amino acids – classification, properties of Amino  acids.  Amino  acid  metabolism,  Proteins:  classification,  structure  (primary,  secondary, tertiary  and  quaternary),  properties  of  protein.  Enzymes  –  general  feature, naming and classification – Factors affecting enzyme activities. Enzyme  inhibition, Mechanism of enzyme action. Nucleic acids: Structure of nitrogenous  bases; Structure and function of nucleotides; Types of nucleic acids. 

Unit VIII Ecology: 

History  and  scope  of  ecology,  Autecology:  Characteristics  of  a  population;  population growth curves; population regulation; life history strategies (R and  K  selection);  concept  of  metapopulation  –  demes  and  dispersal,  interdemic  extinctions,  age  structured  population.  Synecology  –  Characteristics  of  community, composition and structure, origin and development, ecotone, edge  effect, ecological niche. Ecological interdependence and interaction – positive  and  negative  interactions.  Competition  –  inter-specific  and  intra-specific.  Ecological Succession: Types, mechanisms, concept of climax.  

Concept and dynamics of Ecosystem: 

Types of Ecosystem, components, Food chain,  food webs. Concept of trophic  level, Ecological pyramids, Energy flow ecosystem. Mineral cycling (C, N, P); primary  production  and  decomposition;  structure  and  function  of  terrestrial  (forest, grassland) and aquatic (fresh water, marine, estuarine) ecosystems. 

Environmental pollution and Management: 

Types,  causes,  effects  and  control measures  of  air,  soil,  water, thermal,  noise  and  heavy metal  pollution; Bioremediation  and  biodegradation  – Bio-mining,  microbes in leaching metals. Biodiversity management; climate change and its  consequences; global environmental change; greenhouse effect; Climate change  conferences.-  Kyoto  Protocol  climate  agreement  –  Carbon  trade  and  carbon  credits.  Blue  carbon  and  IPCC.  Tools  to  study  global  climate  change.  GIS  application in Biodiversity and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). 

Biodiversity conservation: 

Need  for  conservation  –  in-situ  conservation  –  sanctuaries,  national  parks,  biosphere reserves; ex-situ conservation – Gene banks, seed banks, Pollen banks  and  Cryopreservation.  Role  of  indigenous  people  in  conservation  of  sacred  species, sacred groves; Human and animal conflicts in Biodiversity conservation,  Red List categories of IUCN. Forest conservation through laws – the biological  diversity Act (2002) in force. National Biodiversity Authority. 

Phytogeography: 

Principle of plant geography – Phytogeographic regions of India, Dispersal and  migration barrier hypothesis, Willis age and area hypothesis. Continuous range,  cosmopolitan,  circumboreal  and  circumaustral,  pantropical,  Discontinuous  distribution Wegner’s theory continental drift hypothesis, land bridges hypothesis,  Endemism. Biogeographic classification of India, Biodiversity hotspot regions  of India and the World.  

Unit IX Microbiology and Plant Pathology: 

Bacteria: 

Classification of bacteria (Bergey’s Manual of Bacteriology, 1994), structural organization and reproduction of bacteria, Motility, flagella and pili –  Growth and Nutrition, growth curve, kinetics of bacterial growth. Sterilization techniques, culture media, staining techniques for bacterial identification  –  Bacterial genetics: conjugation, transformation and transduction. Application: fermentor and types of fermentations  –  industrial products from bacteria, agricultural applications of bacteria, bacteria in Bioremediation. Structure and reproduction of Archaebacteria, Cyanobacteria, Mycoplasma and Actinobacteria (Actinomycetes). 

Virology: 

General  characteristics,  Classification  of  plant  viruses  (ICTV,1970),  structure  and multiplication of plant viruses. Bacteriophage: Structural characteristics and  multiplication. Virion, viroid, virusoids and prions. Isolation and purification of  plant viruses.  

Plant Pathology: 

Classification  of  plant  diseases,  Symptomology.  Principles  of  plant infection:  Inoculum, inoculum potential, Pathogenicity, Disease triangle. Epidemiology and  forecasting of plant diseases – Host parasite inter relationships and interaction.  Pathogenesis:  Mechanism  of  penetration-  Disease  development  of  pathogen 

(colonization)  and  dissemination  of  pathogens.  Environment  and  nutrition  in  relation to  disease  development  –  Defence mechanism. Role  of  enzymes  and  toxins in disease development. Diseases and disease cycle – Important diseases  of crop plants in India: Sheath blight of rice, leaf spot of groundnut, Black rust  of wheat, Late blight of potato, Fusarium wilt of cotton, Bacterial blight of rice,  Citrus  canker,  Bunchy  top  of  Banana,  Root  knot  of  Brinjal,  Red  rust  of  tea.  Disease Resistance mechanism in plants. Techniques adopted in plant breeding  for  disease  resistance.  Principles  of  plant  disease  management  –  Cultural  practices,  physical,  chemical  and  biological  methods,  disease  controlled  by  immunization.  Plant  quarantine  and  legislation.  Integrated  Pest  Management  System. Plant protection organizations in India.  

Unit X Introduction to Plant Tissue Culture: 

Basics of plant tissue culture – concepts in plant tissue culture. Plant tissue culture  techniques.  Micropropagation,  organ  culture,  meristem  culture,  protoplast  culture and haploid plant production. Callus induction, Cell suspension culture,  somatic  embryogenesis,  synthetic  seed  technology.  Conservation  of  Plant  genetic resources. Application of cell culture systems in metabolic engineering.  Concepts and application of nanobiotechnology: Application of nano particles  in Agriculture,  environment  and  medicine.  Impact  of  nano-science  and  nano 

biotechnology to society.  

Genetic Engineering: 

Principles of rDNA technology. Molecular tools in Genetic engineering. Cloning  vectors  –  Plasmids  –  types,  Mechanism  of  plasmids,  Isolation  of  plasmids.  Cosmids  and  phage  vectors.  Construction  of  Genomic  library,  polymerase  chain reaction (PCR), Molecular Markers (RAPD, RFLP and AFLP). Blotting  techniques  (Southern,  Northern  and  Western  blots).  Sequencing  methods  for  DNA.  Genetic  transformation  and  development  of  transgenic  plants  for  insect,  herbicide  and  viral  resistances,  Golden  rice,  Edible  vaccines,  Bio farming,  bioremediation  and  bioprospecting,  salt  and  drought  tolerant  plants,  enhancement  of  shelf  life  of  flowers  and  fruits.  Socio-economic  and  ethical  aspects  of  biotechnology.  Environmental  laws;  Intellectual  property  rights;  World  Intellectual  Property  Organization  (WIPO)  GATT,  TRIPS,  PBR  and  Farmers rights and its role. Ecological impact and biosafety issues of GM crops.