Microbiology and Plant Pathology: Structure and
reproduction/multiplication of viruses, viroids, bacteria, fungi and
mycoplasma; Applications of microbiology in agriculture, industry, medicine
and in control of soil and water pollution; Prion and Prion hypothesis.
Important crop diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, mycoplasma, fungi
and nematodes; Modes of infection and dissemination; Molecular basis
of infection and disease resistance/defence; Physiology of parasitism
and control measures; Fungal toxins; Modelling and disease forecasting;
Plant quarantine.
Cryptogams: Algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes, pteridophytes
- structure and reproduction from evolutionary viewpoint; Distribution
of Cryptogams in India and their ecological and economic importance.
Phanerogams: Gymnosperms: Concept of Progymnosperms;
Classification and distribution of gymnosperms; Salient features of
Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Coniferales and Gnetales, their structure and
reproduction; General account of Cycadofilicales, Bennettitales and
Cordaitales; Geological time scale; Type of fossils and their study
techniques.
Angiosperms: Systematics, anatomy, embryology, palynology and
phylogeny.
Taxonomic hierarchy; International Code of Botanical Nomenclature; Numerical
taxonomy and chemotaxonomy; Evidence from anatomy, embryology and palynology.
Origin and evolution of angiosperms; Comparative account of various
systems of classification of angiosperms; Study of angiospermic families
– Mangnoliaceae, Ranunculaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Apiaceae, Asclepiadaceae,
Verbenaceae, Solanaceae, Rubiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae,
Arecaceae, Liliaceae, Musaceae and Orchidaceae.
Stomata and their types; Glandular and non-glandular trichomes; Unusual
secondary growth; Anatomy of C3 and C4 plants; Xylem and phloem differentiation;
Wood anatomy.
Development of male and female gametophytes, pollination, fertilization;
Endosperm - its development and function; Patterns of embryo development;
Polyembroyony and apomixes; Applications of palynology; Experimental
embryology including pollen storage and test-tube fertilization.
Plant Resource Development: Domestication and introduction
of plants; Origin of cultivated plants; Vavilov’s centres of origin;
Plants as sources for food, fodder, fibre, spices, beverages, edible
oils, drugs, narcotics, insecticides, timber, gums, resins and dyes,
latex, cellulose, starch and its products; Perfumery; Importance of
Ethnobotany in Indian context; Energy plantations; Botanical Gardens
and Herbaria.
Morphogenesis: Totipotency, polarity, symmetry and
dfferentiation; Cell, tissue, organ and protoplast culture; Somatic
hybrids and Cybrids; Micropropagation; Somaclonal variation and its
applications; Pollen haploids, embryo rescue methods and their applications.
PAPER – II
Cell Biology: Techniques of cell biology; Prokaryotic
and eukaryotic cells - structural and ultrastructural details; Structure
and function of extracellular matrix (cell wall), membranes-cell adhesion,
membrane transport and vesicular transport; Structure and function of
cell organelles (chloroplasts, mitochondria, ER, dictyosomes ribosomes,
endosomes, lysosomes, peroxisomes); Cytoskelaton and microtubules; Nucleus,
nucleolus, nuclear pore complex; Chromatin and nucleosome; Cell signalling
and cell receptors; Signal transduction; Mitosis and meiosis; Molecular
basis of cell cycle; Numerical and structural variations in chromosomes
and their significance; Chromatin organization and packaging of genome;
Polytene chromosomes; B-chromosomes – structure, behaviour and
significance.
Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolution: Development
of genetics; Gene versus allele concepts (Pseudoalleles); Quantitative
genetics and multiple factors; Incomplete dominance, polygenic inheritance,
multiple alleles; Linkage and crossing over; Methods of gene mapping,
including molecular maps (idea of mapping function); Sex chromosomes
and sex-linked inheritance, sex determination and molecular basis of
sex differentiation; Mutations (biochemical and molecular basis); Cytoplasmic
inheritance and cytoplasmic genes (including genetics of male sterility).
Structure and synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins;Genetic code and
regulation of gene expression; Gene silencing; Multigene families; Organic
evolution – evidences, mechanism and theories.
Role of RNA in origin and evolution.
Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Biostatistics:
Methods of plant breeding – introduction, selection and hybridization
(pedigree, backcross, mass selection, bulk method); Mutation, polyploidy,
male sterility and heterosis breeding; Use of apomixes in plant breeding;
DNA sequencing; Genetic engineering – methods of transfer of genes;
Transgenic crops and biosafety aspects; Development and use of molecular
markers in plant breeding; Tools and techniques - probe, southern blotting,
DNA fingerprinting, PCR and FISH.
Standard deviation and coefficient of variation (CV); Tests of significance
(Z-test, t-test and chi-square test); Probability and distributions
(normal, binomial and Poisson); Correlation and regression.
Physiology and Biochemistry: Water relations, mineral nutrition
and ion transport, mineral deficiencies; Photosynthesis – photochemical
reactions; photophosphorylation and carbon fixation pathways; C3, C4
and CAM pathways; Mechanism of phloem transport; Respiration (anerobic
and aerobic, including fermentation) – electron transport chain
and oxidative phosphorylation; Photorespiration; Chemiosmotic theory
and ATP synthesis; Lipid metabolism; Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen
metabolism; Enzymes, coenzymes; Energy transfer and energy conservation;
Importance of secondary metabolites; Pigments as photoreceptors (plastidial
pigments and phytochrome); Plant movements; Photoperiodism and flowering,
vernalization, senescence; Growth substances – their chemical
nature, role and applications in agri-horticulture; Growth indices,
growth movements; Stress physiology (heat, water, salinity, metal);
Fruit and seed physiology; Dormancy, storage and germination of seed;
Fruit ripening – its molecular basis and manipulation.
Ecology and Plant Geography: Concept of ecosystem;
Ecological factors; Concepts and dynamics of community; Plant succession;
Concept of biosphere; Ecosystems; Conservation; Pollution and its control
(including phytoremediation); Plant indicators; Environment (Protection)
Act.
Forest types of India - Ecological and economic importance
of forests, afforestation, deforestation and social forestry; Endangered
plants, endemism, IUCN categories, Red Data Books; Biodiversity and
its conservation; Protected Area Network; Convention on Biological Diversity;
Farmers’ Rights and Intellectual Property Rights; Concept of Sustainable
Development; Biogeochemical cycles; Global warming and climatic change;
Invasive species; Environmental Impact Assessment; Phytogeographical
regions of India.
