INTRODUCTION TO MACROMOLECULES:
Biomolecules; Nucleic acids: storage and transfer of genetic information; Carbohydrates: energy transactions and structural blocks Proteins: structure, folding and catalysis; Lipids: membranes and energy transactions; Nucleic Acids: Structure of DNA, Alternative forms of DNA - A, B, Z and triplex DNA. Melting Curve ofDNA double helix, Hyperchromoic effect and factorsresponsible for DNA double helical structure, Structure of RNA and Structural aspects of mRNA, tRNA andrRNA. Composition and primary structure of proteins;Conformational analysis and forces that determineprotein structures and geometries; potential energycalculations, phi, psi, omega angles, Ramachandran orsteric contour diagram, chi angles of side chains inproteins; hydrogen bonding; disulphide bonds;hydrophobic interactions; alpha helices; beta sheets;helix to coil transition, general features andthermodynamic aspects of protein folding and foldingkinetics, protein-ligand interactions.
REPLICATION, REPAIR AND RECOMBINATION:
Mode of DNA Replication, basic Requirements for DNA Synthesis, Steps involved in DNA synthesis, Origin of replication in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Replication initiation, elongation and termination in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Repliosome and Replication Fork, Enzymes and accessory proteins; Fidelity; Replication of single stranded circular DNA – Mitochondrial and Chloroplast DNA. DNA damage and DNA repair, DNA repair mechanisms - Photoreactivation; Nucleotide excision repair; Mismatch correction; Post replication repair and SOS repair; Recombination: Homologous and non-homologous; Site specific recombination.
BASIC FEATURES OF RNA SYNTHESIS AND STEPS INVOLVED IN TRANSCRIPTION, PROKARYOTIC & EUKARYOTIC RNA POLYMERASES:
Prokaryotic Transcription and regulation; Transcription unit, Promoters and Transcription process, Initiation; Attenuation; Termination: Rho-dependent and independent; Antitermination. Transcriptional control in lambda phage; Eukaryotic transcription and regulation;RNA polymerase structure and assembly; RNA polymerase I, II, III; Eukaryotic promoters and enhancers; General Transcription factors; TATA box binding protein (TBP) and TBP associated factors (TAF); Activators and repressors; Transcript processing;Processing of tRNA and rRNA.
GENE REGULATION AND OPERON CONCEPT:
Constitutive, Inducible and Repressible systems; Operators and Regulatory elements; Positive and negative regulation of operon; lac, trp, ara, his, and gal operons and their regulation; Transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Processing of hnRNA, tRNA, rRNA; 5'-Cap formation; 3'-end processing and polyadenylation; Splicing; RNA editing; Nuclear export of mRNA; mRNA stability; Catalytic RNA. ; Chi sequences in prokaryotes; Gene targeting; Gene disruption; FLP/FRT and Cre/ Lox recombination
TRANSLATION AND PROTEIN TARGETING:
Requirements for protein biosynthesis, Steps involved in protein biosynthesis, Ribosomes; Composition and assembly; Genetic code; Evolution of Triplet concept, Properties of genetic code. tRNA and its role in translation; Wobble hypothesis; Mechanism of initiation, elongation and termination; Coand post-translational modifications; Genetic codon variation in mitochondria; Transport of proteins and molecular chaperones; Protein stability; Protein turnover and degradation.