Book Summary
Keeping in view the ever growing importance of Research in Life sciences, this book has been prepared to help JRFNET aspirants. Life sciences is a vast field that includes fields of botany, zoology, biochemistry, biotechnology, bioinformatics, microbiology, pharmacy, medicine and other fields related to biosciences. The syllabus prescribed by CSIR-UGC for Life Sciences is too vast and there is a dearth of a complete quality book for the same in the market. A sincere and nascent attempt has been made in this direction to fulfill the gap and enable the JRF-NET aspirants to achieve their target of clearing the prestigious CSIR-UGC exam.
Further this book will also cater to the need of students preparing for other competitive exams such as ICAR, ICMR, GATE, TIFR, DBT, IISc, JNU, DU, BHU, Indian civil services, Indian Forest services, Provincial Civil Services etc. Although the book is designed keeping in mind the CSIR- UGC syllabus for Life Sciences, however the undergraduate and post graduate students of various universities across the country will also find this book useful.
The book is simple and has been designed as per the latest syllabus. For the ease of understanding the book is organized in 13 chapters within IV volumes. This book, the volume I of the series concentrates on the first three units of the syllabus, namely Molecules and their Interaction Relevant to Biology, Cellular Organization and Fundamental Processes. An honest effort has been made to cover and provide updated information in all the sections and sub sections under each unit so as to enrich the knowledge and understanding of the students in related topics. The matter in this volume will well equip the student to face any kind of question with greater confidence in part B as well as part
C of the question paper.
MOLECULES AND THEIR INTERACTION RELAVENT TO BIOLOGY (UNIT-1)
Topics covered
- A: Structure of atoms, molecules and chemical bonds
- B: Composition, structure and function of biomolecules:(carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and vitamins)
- C: Stabilizing interactions (Van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interaction, etc.)
- D: Principles of biophysical chemistry: (pH, buffer, reaction kinetics,
thermodynamics, colligative properties) - E: Bioenergetics, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, coupled reaction, group transfer, biological energy transducers
- F: Principles of catalysis, enzymes and enzyme kinetics, enzyme regulation, mechanism of enzyme catalysis, isozymes
- G: Conformation of proteins (Ramachandran plot, secondary structure, domains, motif and folds)
- H: Conformation of nucleic acids [helix (A, B, Z), t-RNA, micro-RNA]
- I: Stability of proteins and nucleic acids
- J: Metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids nucleotides and vitamins
CELLULAR ORGANIZATION (UNIT-2)
Topics covered
- A: Membrane structure and function: (Structure of model membrane, lipid bilayer and membrane protein diffusion, osmosis, ion channels, active transport, membrane pumps, mechanism of sorting and regulation of intracellular transport, electrical properties of membranes)
- B: Structural organization and function of intracellular organelles: (Cell wall, nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, peroxisomes, plastids, vacuoles, chloroplast, structure & function of cytoskeleton and its role in motility)
- C: Organization of genes and chromosomes: (Operon, unique and repetitive DNA, interrupted genes, gene families, structure of chromatin and chromosomes, heterochromatin, euchromatin, transposons)
- D: Cell division and cell cycle: (Mitosis and meiosis, their regulation, steps in cell cycle, regulation and control of cell cycle)
- E: Microbial Physiology: (Growth yield and characteristics, strategies of cell division, stress response)
FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES (UNIT-3)
Topics covered
- A: DNA replication, repair and recombination: (Unit of replication, enzymes involved, replication origin and replication fork, fidelity of replication, extrachromosomal replicons, DNA damage and repair mechanisms, homologous and site-specific recombination)
- B: RNA synthesis and processing: (transcription factors and machinery, formation of initiation complex, transcription activator and repressor, RNA polymerases, capping, elongation, and termination, RNA processing, RNA editing, splicing, and polyadenylation, structure and function of different types of RNA, RNA transport)
- C: Protein synthesis and processing: (Ribosome, formation of initiation complex, initiation factors and their regulation, elongation and elongation factors, termination, genetic code, aminoacylation of tRNA, tRNA-identity, aminoacyl tRNA synthetase, and translational proof-reading, translational inhibitors, Post- translational modification of proteins)
- D: Control of gene expression at transcription and translation level:(regulating the expression of phages, viruses, prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes, role of chromatin in gene expression and gene silencing)
