Minor in Biotechnology

Cell as a basic unit of living systems, broad classification of cell types: bacteria, eukaryotic microbes, plant and animal cells; cell, tissue, organ and organisms, Cell organelles: Ultrastructure of cell membrane and function, Chromosomes: Structural organisation of chromosomes, nucleosome organization, euchromatin and heterochromatin. Cell division and cell cycle, Cell–cell interaction, apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy, Cell differentiation.

 History, scope and significance of Genetics. Mendelian laws of inheritance. Lethality and interaction of genes. Linkage and crossing over. Mapping of genes. Basic microbial genetics, Genetic mapping. Classical and modern concept of gene, Mutations, Chromosomal aberrations. Genetic disorders in humans. Sex determination in plants and animals. Non disjunction as a proof of chromosomal theory of inheritance. Sex linked, sex influenced and sex limited inheritance. Extra chromosomal inheritance; cytoplasmic inheritance, Mitochondrial and Chloroplast inheritance. Principles of Population genetics; Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium law, Gene and genotype frequencies.

Recommended Books:

• An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of the Cell, Alberts, B., Bray, D., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Roff, M., Robert, K.,  Walter, P., Roberts, K., Pub: Garland Publishing Company.
• Cell and Molecular Biology, Sheelar, P., Bianchi, D. E., Pub: John Wiley.
• Molecular Cell Biology, Lodish, H., Berk, A., Zipursky, S.L., Matsudaura, P.,   Baltimore, D., Danell, J., pub; W.H. Preeman and Company.
• Principles of Genetics, Gardner, E. J., Pub; John Wiley & Sons Inc.

History, evolution and development of microbiology. Diversity of microorganisms- scope and importance. Characterization and identification of bacteria based on morphology, physiology, biochemistry, ecology, chemotaxonomy and molecular systematics. Bergey’s manual – classification of bacteria, fungi, algae and archea.

The study of microbial structure by use of light, phase, fluorescent and electron microscopy. Preparation and staining of specimens. Microbial nutrition, nutritional types, requirements, design and types of nutrient media, microbial growth- principles, kinetics and methods. The influence of environmental factors on growth. Microbial control- definition, methods of sterilization, physical methods and chemical agents. Isolation of pure cultures- spread plate, streak plate and pour plate.

Classification of general features of cyanobacteria and importance of Spirulina, Rickettsia, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Archaebacteria. Methanogenic and Halophilic bacteria. General account and economic importance of algae and fungi. Clinically important bacteria and protozoans. Distribution of microbes in nature.

History and development of viruses. Nature, origin and evolution of viruses. Nomenclature, recent classification (ICTV) structure and characteristics of viruses. Isolation, cultivation and identification of viruses. Biological and chemical properties of viruses. Animal, plant and bacterial viruses and their interactions with hosts. Virus replication and genome expression. Process of infection- animal, plant and bacterial cells. Molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis with respect to poliovirus, rotavirus, herpes virus, retroviruses.

Transmission of viruses (Direct and Indirect) persistence of viruses and their mechanism. Purification and inactivation of viruses- physical and chemical methods. Virus ecology and epidemiology, scope and concepts of epidemiology. Bacterial recombination, transformation, conjugation and transduction. Mapping of prokaryotic genome and tetrad analysis, insertion sequences, transposons and mechanism of transposition, retro transposons, plasmids.

Recommended Books:

• Microbiology: Concepts and Applications, Pelczar, M. J., Chan, E. C. S., Krieg, N. R., Pub: Mcgraw hill International Book Company.
• Brock Biology of Microorganisms (9th edition), Brock, T. D., Madigan, M. T., Pub: Prentice Hall International.
•  Introduction to Microbiology, Ross, Pub: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers.
• Prescot’s Microbiology, Willey, J., Sherwood, L., Woolverton, C., Pub: MacGraw Hill.
• Microbiology: An Introduction, Oortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., Case, C. L., Pub: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Properties and importance of water, intra and intermolecular forces, non-covalent

interactions- electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, Vander Waals interactions, hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions. Disulphide bridges. pH, pK, acid base reactions and buffers.

Carbohydrates: Different carbohydrates and with examples of glucose, galactose, sucrose, starch and glycogen. Carbohydrates metabolism: Glycolysis, Kreb’s Cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Gluconeogenesis, Pentose phosphate pathway, Glyoxylate cycle.

Proteins: Classification and properties of amino acids, Classification based on structure and functions, structural organization of proteins (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures), biosynthesis of protein. Enzymes and enzyme kinetics. Michaelis-Menten equation, significance of Km , Vmax and Kcat. Lineweaver – Burk plot. Biosynthesis and degradation of aromatic and branched chain amino acids.

Nucleic acids: Structure and properties of nucleic acids. Different forms of DNA-A, B, Z. Circular DNA and DNA supercoiling. Different types of RNA- mRNA, and non coding RNA – tRNA, rRNA, snRNA, miRNA and siRNA. Synthesis and regulation of purine nucleotides by de novo pathway. Salvage of purine nucleotides. Synthesis and regulation of pyramidine nucleotides. Formation of deoxyribonucleotides and their regulation. Degradation of purines and pyrimidine nucleotides, disorders of nucleotide metabolism

Lipids: Classification, structure, properties and functions of fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol and eicosanoids- prostaglandlins. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids - synthesis, β-oxidation and regulation. Ketone bodies. Synthesis of triacylglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol.

Vitamins: Source, structure, biological role and deficiency disorders of vitamins .

Recommended Books:

• Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry (5^th ed.), Nelson, D., Cox, D., Pub: Macmillan Pub.
• Biochemistry (6^th ed.), Stryer, L., Pub: Freeman-Tappan.
• Text Book of Biochemistry by West, E. S., Todd, W. R., Bruggen, J. T V., Pub: Mac Milan.
• Principles of Biochemistry by White, A., Handler, P., Smith, E. L., Pub: McGraw Hill.
• Harper's Biochemistry, Murray, R. K., et al., 27 ed., Pub: Langeman
• Biochemistry (3^rd ed.), Voet, D., Voet, J. G., Pub: John Wiley.
• Biochemistry, Mathews, et. al., Pub: Pearson         

Instruments, basic principles and usage pH meter, absorption and emission spectroscopy, Principle and law of absorption, fluorimetry, colorimetry,  spectrophotometry (visible, UV, infra-red), polarography, centrifugation, atomic absorption, NMR, X-ray  crystallography. Chromatography techniques: Paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography, column chromatography, HPLC, gas chromatography, gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography, NMR, CD, MS MS, ES MS, LC MS, AFM, Confocal Microscopy, Fluorescent microscopy, FACS analysis, Electrophoresis Agarose gel electrophoresis, SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immune electrophoresis, Isoelectric focusing., Radioisotope tracer techniques and autoradiography.

Recommended Books:

         Principles and Techniques of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ed. Wilson KM,  Valker, JM  Pub: Cambridge University Press.

• Advanced Instrumentation, Data Interpretation, and Control of Biotechnological Processes, Impe., J. F. V., Vanrolleghem, P. A., Iserentant, D. M., Pub: Kluwer Academic.
• Crystal Structure Analysis A primer, Glusker, J. P., Trueblood, K. N., Pub: Oxford University Press.
• Modern Spectroscopy, Hollas, J. M., Pub: John Wiley and Son Ltd.
• NMR Spectroscopy: Basic Principles, Concepts and Applications in Chemistry, Gunther, H., Pub: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
• Principles of Physical Biochemistry, Holde, K. E. V., Johnson, W. C., Ho, P. S., Pub: Prentice Hall.
• Microscopic Techniques in Biotechnology, Hoppert M., Pub: Wiley VCH.
• Principles of Fermentation Technology, Stanbury P. F., Whitaker. A., Hall, S. J., Pub: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd.

Nature of genetic material, organization of genetic material in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Structure of chromatin, fine structure of the gene. Different kinds of genes- split genes, overlapping, assembled, polyprotein & nested genes. Gene amplification and polytene chromosome. C - Value paradox, mitochondrial & plastid genomes.

DNA replication – Types of DNA polymerases. Mechanism of DNA replication. Enzymes and accessory proteins involved in DNA replication. Replication of telomeres and its significance. Differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA replication and regulation. DNA damage and repair.

Transcription in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Mechanism of transcription, Types of RNA polymerases and promoter-polymerase interactions. Transcriptional factors. Processing of mRNA, tRNA and rRNA. RNA editing and transport.

Translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes: Genetic code, translational machinery, mechanism of initiation, elongation and termination. Regulation of translation, co and post translational modifications. Leader sequences & protein targeting.

Regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes- the operon concept, negative & positive control and attenuation. Role of enhancers, cis-trans elements, DNA methylation and chromatin remodeling in gene expression. Environmental regulation of gene expression. RNAi and gene silencing.

Recommended Books:

• Biochemistry (5^th ed.), Stryer, L., Pub: freeman-Toppan.
• Genes VIII, Lewin, B., Pub: Oxford.
• Cell and Molecular Biology (7^th ed.), De Roberties, E,D.P., De Robertis, E. M. F.,  Pub: Saunders College publisher.
• Molecular Biology, Frefielder, D., Pub: Narosa Publishing House Pvt. Limited,
• Molecular Biology of the Gene, Watson, J. D., et. al., Pub: Benjamin.
• Molecular Biology, Weaver, R. F., Pub: McGraw-Hill.

Concepts of immune response. Innate immunity – barriers and role of toll like receptors in innate immunity. Cells of the immune system , Adaptive immunity – organization and structure of lymphoid organs. Antigens –immunogenicity, antigenicity, factors influencing the immunogenicity, haptens, adjuvants and mitogens. Super antigens, B & T cell epitopes.

Types of B cells, BCR, developmental stages of B cells, regulation of immune response. Classification, fine structure and functions of antibodies. Antigenic determinants on immunoglobulins – isotypes, allotypes and idiotypes. The generation of antibody diversity. Effector cell mechanism of humoral response. T cell ontogeny – Types of T cells, T cell development. T-cell maturation and activation. Structure of TCR. T-cell differentiation, Effector cell mechanism. Cell death and T-cell populations, Types of cell mediated immunity.

Cytokines – classes and their biological activities. Therapeutic uses of cytokines and their receptors. Complement system– mode of activation, classical, alternate and mannose binding pathway, biological functions and regulation. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Human leukocyte antigens (HLA), MHC restriction. MHC and disease susceptibility, regulation of MHC expression. APC’s and antigen processing and presentation.

Immunological techniques: Principle concepts of antigen–antibody interactions:

Agglutination, precipitation, gel diffusion: Ouchterlony double immuno diffusion and Mancini’s radial immuno diffusion, immunoelectrophoresis and complement fixation test. ELISA, RIA, Western Blot and FACS.

Recommended Books:

• Kuby Immunology (6^th ed.), Kindt, T. J., Goldsby, R. A., Osborne, B. A., Pub: W. H. Freeman and Company.
• Roitt's Essential Immunology (12^th ed.), Delves, P. J., Martin, S. J., Burton, D. R., Roitt, I. M., Pub: Wiley- Blackwell.
• Janeway's Immunobiology (8^th ed.), Murphy, K., Pub: Garland Science.
• Fundamental Immunology (6^th ed.), Paul, W. E., Pub: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins publishers.

Introduction to Bioinformatics, Review on Biological Databases concept: Primary, secondary and composite databases, Nucleotide Sequence databases (EMBL, GenBank, DDBJ) Protein Databases –(UNIPROT, PIR, TREMBL), Protein family/domain databases (PROSITE, PRINTS, Pfam,), Metabolic & Pathway databases (KEGG), Structural databases (PDB).

Structural Bioinformatics: Classification of protein structures, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary structures, Quaternary structure, Protein folding concept, Potential energy map and Ramachandran plot. Secondary structure prediction methods, Classification of Three Dimensional Structures of Proteins, Motifs, Folds and Domains, Classification of Three Dimensional Structures in PDB (HSSP, SCOP, FSSP, CATH).  Structural Alignment Methods, Homology Modeling, fold recognition and ab initio methods. Computer aided drug design (CADD), Molecular Docking.

Genomics: The Human Genome, Comparative Genomics (Comparative genomics of Model organisms), gene identification methods, primary gene expression analysis. Primary Sequence Analysis: Sequence alignment, Homology concept, pairwise sequence alignment, multiple sequence alignment, Phylogenetic Analysis, concept of SNP and snip analysis.

Books:

• Bioinformatics–Sequence, Structure and Databanks, Higgins, D., Taylor, W., Pub: Oxford University Press, Incorporated.
• Bioinformatics: A practical guide to the analysis of genes and proteins, Baxevanis, A. D., Ouellette, B.F.F., Pub: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
• Bioinformatics: Sequence and Genome Analysis, Mount, D.W., Pub: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
• Structural Bioinformatics, Ed: Bourne, P. E., Weissig, H., Pub: Wiley-Blackwell.

Basic techniques of cell, tissue and organ culture. Primary culture and subculture of cells. kinetics of cell growth. Properties of normal and transformed cells. Role of carbondioxide, serum and other supplements in cell culture. Different types of culture media- natural media, BSS, MEM, serum free media. Different methods for the estimation of cell viability and cytotoxicity. Applications of cell culture. Stem cells – Embryonic and adult stem cells. Isolation and culture of stem cells. Induced pluripotency of stem cells. Stem cell markers. Stem cell plasticity and differentiation. Application of stem cells in medicine. Apoptosis- mechanism and significance with reference to degenerative diseases – Parkinson’s disease, stroke and diabetes.

Organ culture and tissue engineering: Organ cultures, histolytic cultures, three dimensional cultures, organotypic cultures. Production of bio-artificial skin, liver and pancreas. Tissue engineering- cell source and culture, culture of cells, design engineering of tissues, tissue modeling. Embryonic stem cell engineering.

Production of monoclonal antibodies, Production of Transgenic Animals -Mouse, sheep, cattle and fish by microinjection, retroviral vector method and embryonic stem cell method. Animal cloning-Somatic cell nuclear transfer and embryonic stem cell nuclear transfer methods. Bio pharming and gene knockout.

Recommended books:

• Culture of Animal cells; A manual of Basic techniques (6^th ed.), Freshney, R. I., Pub: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA, Glick, B. R., Pasternak, J. J., Pub: ASM Press.
• Elements of Biotechnology, Gupta, P. K., Pub: Rastogi & Co.
• Concepts of Biotechnology, Balasubrahmanian, et al., Pub: University press.         

Plant tissue culture media, phytohormones, in vitro cultures- initiation and maintenance of callus, suspension cultures and single cell clones- organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, cite differentiation and morphogenesis. Embryo culture, embryo rescue after wide hybridization, and its applications. Endosperm culture and production of triploids.  Introduction to the processes of embryogenesis and organogenesis and their practical applications.

Micropropagation, axillary bud, shoot-tip and meristem culture. Haploids and their applications. Somaclonal variations and applications. Introduction to protoplast isolation, Principles of protoplast isolation and applications. Testing of viability of isolated protoplasts. Various steps in the regeneration of protoplasts. Introduction of somatic hybridization. Various methods for fusing protoplasts, chemical and electrical. Cybrids- definition and application. Use of plant cell, protoplasts and tissue culture for genetic manipulation of plants ,Introduction to A. tumefaciens. Tumor formation on plants using A.tumefaciens (Monocots vs. Dicots). Practical application of genetic transformation.

Methods of gene transfer in plants- PEG, particle guns and Agrobacterium mediated (Ti and Ri plasmids) gene transformation. Identification of transgenic plants, Molecular markers and their applications. RFLP, AFLP, simple sequence repeats. RAPD for molecular mapping and crop improvement. Stress- biotic and abiotic stress. Development of transgenic plants- herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, insect resistance, and stress tolerance. Protein and oil quality traits in seeds. Genetic manipulation of photosynthetic traits for improvement of crop yield. Edible vaccines and plantibodies.

Plant secondary metabolites - types and applications, Biofertilizers- organization of nif genes and their regulation, Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azolla, cyanobacteria and their associations, Mycorrhizal biofertilizers and biopesticide production strategies.

Recommended Books:

• Plant Biotechnology, Slater, A., Scott, N. W., Fowler, M. R., Pub: Oxford University press.
• Biotechnology in Agriculture, Swaminathan, M. S., Pub: Mc. Millian India Ltd.
• Biotechnology and its applications to Agriculture, Copping, L. G., Rodgers, P., Pub: British Crop Projection.
• Plant Biotechnology, Kung, S., Arntzen, C. J., Pub: Butterworths.
• Agricultural biotechnology, Purohit, S. S., Pub: Agrobios.
• Experiments in Plant Tissue Culture, Dodds, J. H., Roberts, L. K., Pub: Cambridge University Press.

Isolation of DNA, cDNA synthesis, chemical synthesis of DNA by phosphoramidite method. Introduction of DNA into living cells, Introduction to gene cloning and its uses, tools and techniques: plasmids and other vectors, DNA, RNA, cDNA. Enzymes used in genetic engineering. Restriction endonucleases and restriction mapping, DNA ligase, DNA polymerase-I, reverse transcriptase, Sl nuclease, terminal nucleotide transferase, alkaline phosphatase, polynucleotide kinase, polynucleotide phosphorylase. Production of proteins from cloned genes: gene cloning in medicine (Pharmaceutical agents such as insulin, growth hormones, recombinant vaccines), gene therapy for genetic diseases.

Cloning vectors- salient features, plasmid vectors, phage vectors, cosmids, phagemids (Lambda and M13 phages), viral vectors (SV40, Baculo and CMV), artificial chromosomes BAC, YAC and MAC.

Ligation of DNA to vectors – cohesive end, blunt end, - homopolymer tailing, linkers and adaptors. Gene transfer techniques- transformation, transfection, microinjection, electroporation,

lipofection and biolistics. Reporter gene assay, selection and expression of r-DNA clones. Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR variations and their applications

DNA sequencing - chemical, enzymatic and NGS methods. Salient features of human genome project. Applications of genetic engineering in agriculture, animal husbandry, medicine and industry.

Recommended Books:

• Recombinant DNA Technology, Watson, J. D., Pub: W. H. Freeman.
• Gene cloning and DNA analysis, Brown, T. A., Pub: Wiley Blackwell A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
• Principles of Gene manipulation: an introduction to Genetic Engineering, Primrose, Old R. W., Primrose, S.B., Pub: Blackwell Science Ltd.

Introduction to fermentation, the fermentation industry, Production process batch and Continuous system of cultivation, Solid-state fermentation. Selection of industrial microorganisms, media for fermentation, aeration, pH, temperature and other  requirements during fermentation, downstream processing and product recovery, food industry waste as fermentation substrate.

Production of compounds like antibiotics, enzymes, organic acids, solvents, beverages, SCP. Production of fermented dairy products, Immobilized enzymes systems, production and applications. Industrial application of microbes - Wine, Beer, Cheese, Yogurt.

Primary and secondary metabolites and their applications; preservation of food.

Biogas; bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides. Use of microbes in mining: leaching of ores by microorganisms; microorganisms and pollution control-bioremediation;  biosensors.

Biological waste treatment and in-plant sanitation - principle and use of biosensor- production of vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, enzymes and antibiotics, alcohols. Enzyme technology - production and recovery of enzymes, enzyme immobilization - application of enzyme in industries. Biosensors.

Recommended Books:

• Industrial Microbiology, Casida, L. E., Pub: Wiley.
• Principles of fermentation Technology, Stanbury, P. F., Whitaker, A., Hall, S. J., Pub: Pergamon.
• Fundamental Principles of Bacteriology, Salle, A. J., Pub: Lightening Source Incorporated.

Introduction and scope of proteomics; Protein separation techniques: ion exchange, size-exclusion and affinity chromatography techniques; Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; Isoelectric focusing (IEF); Two dimensional PAGE for proteome analysis; Image analysis of 2D gels; Introduction to mass spectrometry; Strategies for protein identification; Protein sequencing; Protein modifications and proteomics; Applications of proteome analysis to drug; Protein-protein interaction (Two hybrid interaction screening); Protein engineering; Protein chips and functional proteomics; Clinical and biomedical application of proteomics; Proteome database; Proteomics industry.

Methods of preparing genomic DNA; DNA sequence analysis methods: Sanger Dideoxy method and Fluorescence method; Gene variation and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs); Expressed sequenced tags (ESTs); Gene disease association; Recombinant DNA technology: DNA cloning basics, Polymerase chain reaction, DNA fingerprinting, Human genome project and the genetic map.

Introduction to systems Biology. Terms and definitions. Dynamical systems, linear stability and bifurcation analysis. Limit cycles, attractors. Genetic and biochemical networks, chemical kinetics, deterministic and stochastic descriptions. Other network types: Regulatory (e.g. fly), Signal transduction (e.g. MAP Kinase cascade in yeast), Metabolic (E coli), Neural network. Topology of genetic and metabolic networks.

Software for systems biology. SBML, and open source programs eCell, Virtual Cell, StochSim,  BioNets. Quantitative models for E Coli: lac operon and lambda switch. The chemotactic module in E. Coli. Pathways and pathway inference. DAVID. Gene Ontologies. § Pathway Miner and similar Software.  SNPs and complex diseases. 

Recommended Books:

• Genomics: The Science and Technology Behind the Human Genome Project, Cantor, C. R., Smith, C. L., Pub: John Wiley & Sons.
• Introduction to Genomics, Lesk, A. M., Pub: Oxford University Press.
• Handbook of Proteomic Method, P. M. Conn, Pub: Humana Press.
• Biochemistry, Berg, J. M., Tymoczko, J. L., Stryer, L., Pub: W. H. Freeman.

Introduction to various Intellectual Property Rights with a special focus on Patent laws, role of IP in research and development, International framework for the protection of IP (TRIPS, PCT, Paris Convention etc.), application of patent law in the domain of biotechnology, patentability: requirements and non-patentable subject matter, statute and rules for the administration of Patent law in India, legal requirements and administrative steps for getting a patent for a biotechnological invention, process flow of grant of a patent, use of databases of (patent and non-patent) for retrieving information to conduct research before filing a patent, understanding the published patent document, interpreting and constructed a patent claim, challenging and revoking a granted patent , Enforcing a patent: remedies available.

Bioethics: ethical concerns of biotechnology research and innovation, other IPRs including, industrial designs, plant breeder’s rights/plant variety protection, IC layout designs, Trade Marks, Geographical indications and  Trade Secrets etc. , managing IP assets, case studies and examples on successful grant of patents and study of important case laws involving biotechnological inventions/discoveries, Evaluation and case studies.

Bio-Ethics: General Bio-Ethical Considerations, Ethics in Stem cell research, Ethics in Genetic Engineering, Genetic Testing

Bio-Regulatory Affairs: Definition, History and Need, New Drug Development Process, Drug Regulatory Agencies: US, Europe and India, Regulatory Filing Process for New Drug and Marketing , Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP)

Recommended books:

• Beier, F.K., Crespi, R.S. and Straus, T. Biotechnology and Patent protection-Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. New Delhi.
• Sasson A, Biotechnologies and Development, UNESCO Publications.
• Singh K, Intellectual Property rights on Biotechnology, BCIL, New Delhi
• Indian Patent Act, 1970
• Manual of Patent Practice and Procedure, Indian patent Office
• Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology- Fundamentals of Global Law, Practice and Strategy by Philip W. Grubb, Oxford University Press
• Beier, F.K., Crespi, R.S. and Straus, T. Biotechnology and Patent protection-Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. New Delhi.
• Sasson A, Biotechnologies and Development, UNESCO Publications.
• Singh K, Intellectual Property rights on Biotechnology, BCIL, New Delhi

Course description not available.

Biology of infectious diseases. History of infectious diseases, basic concepts of disease dynamics, parasite diversity, evolution & ecology of infectious diseases Emergence of diseases: The basic reproductive number, critical community size, epidemic curve, zoonosis, spill over, human / wildlife interface, climate change, hot zones, pathology. Spread of diseases: transmission types (droplets, vectors, sex), super spreading, diffusion, social networks, nosomical transmission, manipulation of behavior. Control of diseases: drug resistance, vaccination, herd immunity, quarantines, antibiotics, antivirals, health communication, ethical challenges of disease control. The future of infectious diseases: Evolution of virulence, emergence of drug resistance, eradication of diseases, medicine & evolution, crop diseases & food security, digital epidemiology. Diseases in developing countries: Malaria, HIV, Cholera, Dengue, Tuberculosis.

Recommended books:

• Understanding infectious disease, Ellner, P. L., Neu, H. C., Pub: Mosby Year Book.
• Expert Guide to Infectious Diseases, Tan, J. S.,  File, T. M., Salata, R. A.,  Tan, M. J., Pub: ACP Press.
• The Biologic and Clinical Basis of Infectious Diseases, Shulman, S. T., Pub: Saunders.
• A practical approach to infectious diseases. Reese, R. E., Betts, R. F., Pub: Little Brown and Company.

Molecular and cellular basis of brain development: 
Brain structure and its origins and cognitive functions, including learning, memory and
perception, Human embryonic brain development, Induction of neuronal differentiation and
neuronal patterning, Structure of neurons, Axon guidance, Glial cell lineage development,
Generation of neurodevelopmental stages in vitro using induced pluripotent stem cells
(iPSCs).
Cell signaling: 
Biochemistry of neurotransmitters and receptors, Signaling via second-messengers including
cAMP, Ca++ and lipids. Synaptic vesicle trafficking and exocytosis in neurons,
Membrane channels in signaling, Action potential and synaptic transmission in neuronal
circuitry formation.
Seminar Series/ Group discussion: To facilitate learning and concept building
on neuronal signaling associated to neurological diseases, molecular and cellular basis of
syndromic and idiopathic neurological disease.
Tutorials/ Demonstration:
Transcriptomics and metabolomics in brain, Cellular and molecular imaging in brain cells and
Brain imaging technologies including, Electroencephalogram (EEG), functional Magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

Practicals: 
Basic methods in neural cell culture, Generation of primary neurons and glial cells, Cytokines
and small molecules in neuronal development, Basic methods in molecular neurobiology.

Recommended books:
Fundamental Neuroscience by Larry R. Squire
Cell Signaling by John Hancock
Dynamics of cyclic nucleotides signaling in Neurons by Pierre Vincent

Vascular Dysfunction: The primary structure, characteristics and function of Endothelial cells. Involvement of endothelial cells in inflammation and pathogenesis following pathogen attack and blood tumor barrier. Cell Signaling in primary cells.Practical: Adhesion assay, Cell death and cell cycle in primary brain cells, immunofluorescence assays, Surface Plasmon Resonance and ELISA techniques.

Host Pathogen Interaction: Introduction to human diseases. Mechanism of pathogen adhesion and attack and entry into the human body. The mechanistic details and process of a few specific pathogens on primary brain cells.

Practical: Cell Culture of human pathogens, co-culture and growth assays, Live cell imaging.

References: Recent publications on Host pathogen Interaction and reviews will beprovided.