M.Sc. MICROBIOLOGY

 

I SEMESTER

MI 401        CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

MI 402        BIOPHYSICS & INSTRUMENTATION

MI 403        ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

MI 404        COMPUTER APPLICATIONS AND BIOSTATISTICS

 

Laboratory MI 405 and MI 406

 

II SEMESTER

MI 501        MICROBIAL GENETICS

MI 502        MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY

MI 503        BIOPROCESS AND FERMENTATION TECHNOLOGY

MI 504        ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

 

Laboratory MI 505 and MI 506

 

III SEMESTER

 

MI 601        R-DNA TECHNOLOGY

MI 602        IMMUNOLOGY

MI 603        MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

MI 604        ENZYMOLOGY AND ENZYME TECHNOLOGY

 

Laboratory MI 605 and MI 606

 

IV SEMESTER

PROJECT WORK
 

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I SEMESTER :

MI 401 : CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

 

¨      Evolution of cell :

Cell as a unit of living organism.

Evolution and structure of prokaryotic cell

Evolution of eukaryotic cell

 

¨      Major structural and functional features of eukaryotic cells :

Plasma membrane, Cell organells – endoplasmic reticulum, golgi complex, lysosomes, vacuoles, peroxisomes, mitochondria, chloroplast, cytoskeleton, microtubules, nucleus, extracellular matrixes, etc.,

 

¨      Nucleic acids as genetic information carriers: experimental evidence. DNA structure: historical aspects and current concepts, melting of DNA. DNA replication : general principles, various modes of replication, isolation and properties of DNA polymerases, proof reading, continuous and discontinuous synthesis. Asymmetric & dimeric nature of DNA polymerase III and simultaneous synthesis of leading and lagging strands, DNA polymerase, exonuclease activity in eukaryotic DNA polymeases. Superhelicity in DNA, linking number, topological properties, mechanism of action of topoisomerases.

 

¨      Initiation of replication of single stranded DNA. Construction of replication fork in test tube. Retroviruses and their unique mode of DNA synthesis. Relationship between replication and cell cycle. Inhibitors of DNA replication (blocking precursor synthesis, nucleotide polymeriztion, altering DNA structure).

 

¨      Structural features of RNA (rRNA, tRNA and mRNA) and relation to function. Initiator and elongator class of tRNA, ribosome binding site on mRNA and corresponding site on rRNA, peptidyl transferase activity of 23S rRNA. Transcription : general principles, basic apparatus, types of RNA polymerases, steps : initiation, elongation and termination, inhibitors of RNA synthesis. Polycistronic and monocistronic RNAs. Control of transcription by interaction between RNA polymerases and promoter regions, use of alternate sigma factors, controlled termination : attenuation and antitermination.

 

¨      Regulation of gene expression : operon conept, catabolite repression, instability of bacterial RNA, positive and negative regulation, inducers and corepressors. Negative regulation – E. coli lac operon; positive regulation – E. coli ara operon; regulation by attenuation – his and trp operons; antitermination – N protein and nut sites in I. DNA binding proteins, enhancer sequences and control of transcription. Identification of protein – binding sites on DNA. Global regulatory responses : heat shock response, stringent response and regulation by small molecules such as ppGpp and cAMP, regulation of rRNA and tRNA synthesis.

 

¨      Maturation and processing of RNA : methylation, cutting and trimming of rRNA; capping, polyadenylation and splicing of mRNA; cutting and modification of tRNA degradation systems. Catalytic of RNA, group I and group II intron splicing, RNase P.

 

¨      Basic features of the genetic code. Protein synthesis : steps, details of initiation, elongation and termination, role of various factors in the above steps, inhibitors of protein synthesis. Synthesis of exported proteins on membrane-bound ribosomes, signal hypothesis. In vitro transcription and translation systems.

 

Reference books :

1.                  Genes VII. Lewin (Oxford University Press) 2000.

2.                  E.coli and Salmonella, Cellular and molecular biology, 2nd edition.

3.                  Bookman Neidhardt et. al 1996. (ASM press).

4.                  Molecular cell biology (W.H.Freeman) by Lodish, Berk, Zippursky.

5.                  Matsudaira, Baltimore, Darnell, 4th edition, 2000.

 

 

 

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MI – 402 : BIOPHYSICS AND INSTRUMENTATION

 

¨      Introduction to biophysics : Molecular organization, different levels, organization of proteins – primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures.

¨      Conformational analysis : Nucleic acids and their organization in living cells; Interactions of nucleic acids.

¨      Methods in biophysical analysis : CD, ORD & fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy.

¨      Separation and characterization of biomolecules using centrifugal, electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques.

¨      Absorption and emission spectroscopy – Theory, instrumentation and applications of Visible, UV, IR, AAS, NMR, ESR and MS spectroscopy.

¨      Characterization of macromolecules using X-ray diffraction analysis.

¨      Use of analytical microscopy in elucidating the structure-function relationship in prokaryotes : Electron microscopy, phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy.

¨      Radio isotope techniques : Detection and measurement of radioactivity, Geiger Muller counters, Scintillation counting, Autoradiography and RIA; Applications of isotopes in biological studies.

 

Reference Books :

Physical Biochemistry : David Freifelder.

Instrumental methods of analysis : Willard, Merrit, Dean and Settle.

Spectroscopy: D.R.Browning

Principles and techniques of practical Biochemistry: Wilson and Walker

Instrumental methods of analysis: D.A.Skoog

 

 

 

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MI 403 : ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

 

¨      Environment : Basic concepts

¨      Global Environmental Problems

¨      Biogeochemical cycles and microorganisms

Nitrogen

Phosphorous

Sulfur

¨      Biological Nitrogen Fixation in detail :

Structure, function and genetic regulation of nitrogenases.

Asymbiotic and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

¨      Waste Pollution : Physical, Chemical, Biological and its consequences

Eutrophication and its control

¨      Biodeterioration :

Metals, Pharmaceuticals, wood, leather, textiles etc.

¨      Biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons

Polydromatic and Halogenated hydrocarbons

Pesticides

Dyes etc.

Factors influencing biodegradation of xenobiotics

¨      Biodegradation of lignin and its applications

¨      Microbial Production of environmental pollutants

¨      Microbial diversity in extreme environments of pH, temperature and salts

Physiology and Molecular adaptation to stresses in halophiles, thermophiles psychrophiles etc.

Biotechnological applications / potential of extremophiles

¨      Air pollution

 

Reference Books :

            Comprehensive Biotechnology. Murray Moo Young. Vol. - 4

            Biotechnology. Rehm and Reid

            Microbes in extreme environments. R. A. Hubert and G. A. Codd.

            Environmental Microbiology. R. M. Maier, I. L. Pepper & G. P. Gerba.

 

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MI 404 : COMPUTER APPLICATIONS AND BIOSTATISTICS

 

History, development and types of computers.

General awareness of computer systems – hardware and software (CPU and other peripheral devices, computer arithmetic, computer logic, programming languages – machine language, assembly language, higher level languages).

 

Definitions and scope of Biostatistics : Variable in biology, collection, classification and tabulation of data. Graphical and diagrammatic representation, histogram, frequency polygon, frequency curve.

Descriptive statistics : Measures of central tendency – Mean (arithmetic, harmonic and geometric), Median and Mode.

Measures of dispersion – Standard deviation and standard errors.

 

Elements of probability theory. Probability distributions – binominal, Poisson and normal distribution. Correlation coefficient. Simple linear regression. Probit and logit analysis.

 

Basic idea of significance test. Statistical hypotheses, types of errors, level of significance, Student’s t, chi-square, goodness of fit and F tests.

 

General awareness and use of popular software package for word processing, DBMS, spread sheets, graphics, statistical packages – SPSS, SAS, MINITAB, MATLAB etc.,

 

Bioinformatics : Introduction to bioinformatics. Use of nucleic acid and protein data banks – NCBI, EMBL, DDBJ, SWISSPORT. Multiple sequence alignment. Gene prediction. Genome analysis and phylogenetic prediction.

 

Reference Books :

            D. H. Sanders Computers Today. Mc. Graw-Hill. Book Company.

            C. Gibas and P. Jamback : Developing bioinformatics computer skills. O’Reilly Associates.

            J. Peek, G. Todino & J. Straug Learning the unix operating system. O’Reilly Associates.

            P. Baldi & S. Brunak. Bioinformatics A machine learning approach. M. I. T. Press.

            A. D.  Bzxevanis and B. F. F. Onellette Bioinformatics : A Practical guide to the analysis of lienes and Proteins.

            S. Misenes and S. A. Krawetz (Eds.) Methods in molecular biology Vol. 132. Bioinformatics Methods and protocols.

            S. C. Gupta. Fundamentals of Statistics. Himalaya Pub. House.

            J. Medhi. Statistical Methods An introductory text. New Age International (P) Ltd. Publishers.

            P. S. S. Sudar Rao & J. Richard. An introduction to biostatistics. Prentice Hall of India. N. Delhi.

 

 

Laboratory MI 405 and MI 406

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II SEMESTER :

MI – 501 : MICROBIAL GENETICS

¨      Gene as unit of mutation and recombination. Molecular nature of mutations; mutagens. Spontaneous mutations – origin. DNA Damage and Repair : type of DNA damage (deamination, oxidative damage, alkylation, pyrimidine – dimers) Repair pathways – methyl directed mismatch repair, very short patch repair, nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, recombination, repair, SOS system etc.

¨      Biochemical genetics

¨      Fungal genetics : Tetrad analysis and parasexual cycle.

¨      Viral genetics :

Bacteriophages – T – series, l - biology.

Miniphages – M 13, f  X 174, Mu.

Bacteriophage recombination – complementation, fine structure analysis.

Plant and animal viruses.

Viroids and prions.

¨      Plasmid biology (general properties, types, replication, compatibility, control of copy number etc.,)

¨      Transposable elements.

¨      Bacterial recombination :

Molecular basis of recombination

Conjugation, transformation and transduction.

¨      The genetic basis of cancer.

The control of cell proliferation

Agents that cause cancer in animals

DNA and RNA tumor viruses.

¨      Aging (apoptoin)

 

Reference Books :

Microbial Genetics. Maloy et. al. 1994. Jones & Barlett Publishers.

Molecular genetics of bacteria. J. W. Dale 1994. John Wiley & Sones.

Modern microbial genetics. 1991. Streips & Yasbin. Niley. Ltd.

 

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MI 502 : MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

 

¨      Biomembrances and transport mechanisms

¨      Carbohydrates. Carbohydrate metabolism : EMP, ED, HMP, Gluconeogenesis, TCA cycle.

¨      Amino acids, biosynthesis and catabolism of aminoacids, protein turn over.

¨      Lipids, lipid metabolism : Biosynthesis of fattyacids and lipids. Oxidation of fatty acids.

¨      Nucleotide metabolism : Biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides. Catabolism of nucleotides.

¨      Vitamins : Chemistry, structure and functions.

¨      Photosynthesis in plants and microbes

¨      Thermodynamics and biological systems. Energy metabolism and Bioenergetics.

¨      Bacterial and Mitochondrial respiration. Oxidative phosphorylation.

¨      Cell signaling, signal transduction, hormones and receptors.

¨      Metabolism of aromatic and C1 compounds.

¨      Antibiotics and drug resistance.

¨      Bioluminescence.

¨      Microbial toxins

¨      Chemotaxis

¨      Sporulation including genetic aspects

¨      Microbial reserve compounds.

¨      Siderophores.

 

Reference Books :

 

            Lehniger Principles of Biochemistry. D. L. Nelson and M.M. Cox.

            Biochemistry : Lubert Stryer

            Microbial Physiology : Moat and Foster

 

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MI - 503 : BIOPROCESS & FERMENTATION TECHNOLOGY

 

¨      Introduction to bioprocess technology

¨      Isolation, cultivation, preservation and improvement of industrially important organisms.

¨      Substrates for fermentation processes.

¨      Elements of biochemical engineering:

Bioreactor design: Laboratory, pilot and large scale reactors.

Sterilization of media and air

Mass transfer of oxygen

Inoculum development and aseptic inoculation and sampling.

Bioprocess kinetics: Kinetics of growth and substrate utilization in batch, fedbatch and continuous system.

Control of process parameters: Instrumentation for monitoring bioreactor and fermentation processes, microprocessor based control systems, data analysis, dynamic modeling of fermentation processes.

Downstream processing: Cell separation and product purification.

¨      Bioprocess economics.

 

 

Reference Books :

 

            Principles of Fermentation Technology : Whitekar & Stanbury

            Comprehensive Biotechnology : Murray Moo Young

            Methods in Industrial Microbiology : Sikyta


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MI – 504 : ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

 

¨      Waste water characterization : COD, BOD, Inorganic constituents, solids, biological compounds.

¨      Waste water management :

Principles and aims of biological waste water treatments.

Biochemistry and microbiology of inorganic phosphorous and nitrogen removal

Suspended growth technologies – Activated sludge, oxidation ditches, lagoons etc.

Fixed film technologies : Trickling filters, rotating biological contactors, activated biofilters, fluidized bed etc.

Waste stabilization ponds.

Sludge treatment and disposal

Anaerobic waste water treatments – RBC, UASB etc.

¨      Bioremediation – oil spills, metals and other hazardous wastes

In situ and ex situ bioremediation of contaminated water and soil.

¨      Use of GMO in bioremediation

¨      Biogeotechnology : Bioleaching of metals, biobeneficiation, microbially enhanced oil recovery, desulfurization of coal.

¨      Biosufactansts and their applications

¨      Solid waste management

Utilization of wastes for food fuel and fertilizers

Biomethanation in detail

Composting

¨      Microbial insecticides

¨      Biofertilizers and Mycorrhyzae

 

Reference Books :

            Waste water treatment for pollution control. 2nd edition. Arceivala.

            Environmental Microbiology. R. M. Maier, I. L. Pepper & G. P. Gerba

            Comprehensive Biotechnology Vol. – 4. Murray Moo Young.

            Biotechnology. Rehm and Reid.

 

Laboratory MI 505 and MI 506

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III SEMESTER :

MI 601 : RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY

 

¨      Core techniques and essential enzymes used in r-DNA technology. Restriction digestion, ligation and transformation.

 

¨      Cloning vectors-plasmids, phages and cosmids. Cloning strategies. Cloning and selection of individual genes, gene libraries: cDNA and genomic libraries.

 

¨      Specialized cloning strategies. Expression vectors, Promoter probe vectors, vectors for library construction-artificial chromosomes.

 

¨      PCR methods and application.

 

¨      Characterization of cloned DNA – Restriction mapping, DNA sequencing methods; dideoxy and chemical method. Sequence assembly. Automated sequencing. Genome sequencing and physical mapping of genomes.

 

¨      Expression of cloned DNA

Expression in heterologus system

Studying the transcript of a clones gene

 

¨      Modification of cloned DNA

Site directed mutagenesis

Efficient expression of cloned gene

Secretion of cloned product

 

¨      Application of recombinant DNA technology

Transgenic animal

Gene therapy

Transgenic plant

Pharmaceutical products

¨      Safety of recombinant DNA technology

Restriction and regulation for the release of GMOs

¨      Vaccines (whole organism, recombinant vector and DNA vaccines)

¨      Liposome as drug delivery system.

¨      Biotechnology of artificial cells (including artificial organs in brief)

¨      Patenting

 

Reference Books:

Principles of gene manipulation. 1994. Old & Primrose. Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Molecular cloning. 3 volumes. Sambrose and Russell. 2000. CSH press.

Genome analysis. Four volumes. 2000. CSH Press.


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MI – 602 : IMMUNOLOGY

 

¨      Overview of the immune system: innate and adaptive immunity, cells and organs of immune system, antigens, epitopes, immunoglobulins – structure and function.

¨      BCR, TCR, generation of diversity. MHC, antigen processing and presentation.

¨      Complement system.

¨      Cell mediated immune responses. Activation of T and B lymphocytes. Cytokines and their role. Hypersensitivity.

¨      Autoimmunity. Transplantation. Immunity to infectious agents. Tumour immunology. AIDS and other immunodeficiencies.

¨      Hybridoma technology and other experimental systems.

 

Reference Books :

            Essential Immunology : Ivan Roitt.

            Kuby Immunology : Goldsby, Kindt and Osborne.

            Immunology : Roitt, Brostoff, Mole.

            Introductory Immunology : Huw Davies.

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MI - 603 : MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

 

¨      General concept of Microbial biotechnology

¨      Microbial production of:

Antibiotics: Penicillin, streptomycin

Enzymes: proteases, amylases

Organic acids: Citric acid, acetic acid

Vitamins: Vit B12, B2

Amino acids: Glutamic acid, Lysine

Ergot Alkaloids

Alcohol, Beer, wine

Exo Polysaccharides

¨      Food and dairy products:

Single cell protein

Single cell oil

Flavours

Cheese, bread and yogurt.

¨      Mushroom cultivation

¨      Plant and animal cell culture.

¨      Steroid transformation

¨      Biopolymers and Bioplastics.

 

Reference Books :

            Biotechnology : Rehm and Reid.

            Comprehensive biotechnology : Murray Moo Young.

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MI - 604 : ENZYMOLOGY AND ENZYME TECHNOLOGY

 

¨      Introduction to enzymology and historical developments in enzymology

¨      Enzyme Structure: Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure, techniques used in determination of protein structure and molecular weight.

¨      Enzyme classification: IUB enzyme classification.

¨      Enzyme Activity: Principle and techniques of enzymatic analysis, factors affecting enzyme activity.

¨      Extraction and Purification of enzyme: Objectives and strategy, seperation techniques, test of purity.

¨      Mechanism of Enzyme Action:

Enzyme activators, co-enzymes and co-factors in enzyme catalysis

Enzyme and substrate specificity

Investigation of active Centre

Factors affecting catalytic efficiency

Experimental approaches to determine enzyme mechanisms.

Enzyme mechanisms: Lysozyme, Chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase, ATCase.

¨      Enzyme Kinetics:

Bioenergetics and Catalysis

Single substrate kinetics: Equilibrium and Steady state kinetics, significance of Km, Vmax & Kcat. Pre-steady state and Relaxation kinetics.

Multisubstrate kinetics: General rate equation, compulsory order, random order and ping-pong mechanisms and their primary and secondary plots.

Enzyme inhibition and its kinetics: Reversible and irreversible inhibition, competitive, non-competitive and uncompetitive, mixed, partial, substrate and allosteric inhibition.

Thermal kinetics: Effect of temperature on reaction rate, enzyme stability, Arrhenius equation and activation energy.

¨      Allosteric enzymes and sigmoidal kinetics: Protein ligand binding, Co-operativity, MWC & KNF models, control of metabolic pathways.

¨      Isoenzymes and its physiological significance

¨      Enzyme engineering:

Chemical modification of enzymes: methods of modification of primary structure, catalytic and allosteric properties, use of group specific reagents.

¨      Enzyme technology:

Enzyme Immobilization & enzyme reactors.

Enzymes in non conventional media

Biosensors

¨      Enzymes as analytical reagents

 

Reference Books :
 

Fundamentals of Enzymology : Nicholes C. Price and Lewis Stevens, Oxford Univ. Press.

Enzyme Structure and mechanism : Alan Fersht, Reading, USA.

Understanding Enzymes : Trevor Palmer

The chemical kinetics of enzyme action : K. J. Laider and P. S. Bunting, Oxford University Press, London.

Enzymes : M. Dixon, E. C. Webb, CJR Thorne and K. F. Tipton, Longmans, London.

 

 

Laboratory MI 605 and MI 606


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IV SEMESTER

 

PROJECT WORK