Biology

Unit I: Reproduction

Unit II: Genetics and Evolution

  • Heredity and variation:

    • Mendelian Inheritance.
    • Deviations from Mendelism – Incomplete dominance, Co-dominance, Multiple alleles, Inheritance of blood groups, Pleiotropy.
    • Elementary idea of polygenic inheritance.
    • Chromosome theory of inheritance.
    • Chromosomes and genes.
    • Sex determination – In humans, birds, honeybee.
    • Linkage and crossing over.
    • Sex-linked inheritance – Haemophilia, Colour blindness.
    • Mendelian disorders in humans – Thalassemia.
    • Chromosomal disorders in humans – Down’s syndrome, Turner’s and Klinefelter’s syndromes.
  • Molecular Basis of Inheritance:

    • Search for genetic material and DNA as genetic material.
    • Structure of DNA and RNA.
    • DNA packaging.
    • DNA replication.
    • Central dogma.
    • Transcription, genetic code, translation.
    • Gene expression and regulation – Lac Operon.
    • Genome and human genome project.
    • DNA fingerprinting.
  • Evolution:

    • Origin of life.
    • Biological evolution and evidences for biological evolution (Paleontological, comparative anatomy, embryology, and molecular evidence).
    • Darwin’s contribution, Modern Synthetic theory of Evolution.
    • Mechanism of evolution – Variation (Mutation and Recombination) and Natural Selection with examples, types of natural selection.
    • Gene flow and genetic drift.
    • Hardy-Weinberg’s principle.
    • Adaptive Radiation.
    • Human evolution.

Unit III: Biology and Human Welfare

  • Health and Disease:

    • Pathogens; parasites causing human diseases (Malaria, Filariasis, Ascariasis, Typhoid, Pneumonia, common cold, amoebiasis, ringworm).
    • Basic concepts of immunology – vaccines.
    • Cancer, HIV and AIDS.
    • Adolescence, drug and alcohol abuse.
  • Improvement in food production:

    • Plant breeding, tissue culture, single cell protein, Biofortification.
    • Apiculture and Animal husbandry.
  • Microbes in human welfare:

    • In household food processing, industrial production, sewage treatment, energy generation, and as biocontrol agents and biofertilizers.

Unit IV: Biotechnology and Its Applications

Unit V: Ecology and Environment

  • Organisms and environment:

    • Habitat and niche.
    • Population and ecological adaptations.
    • Population interactions – mutualism, competition, predation, parasitism.
    • Population attributes – growth, birth rate and death rate, age distribution.
  • Ecosystems:

    • Patterns, components.
    • Productivity and decomposition.
    • Energy flow.
    • Pyramids of number, biomass, energy.
    • Nutrient cycling (carbon and phosphorous).
    • Ecological succession.
    • Ecological Services – Carbon fixation, pollination, oxygen release.
  • Biodiversity and its conservation:

    • Concept of Biodiversity.
    • Patterns of Biodiversity.
    • Importance of Biodiversity.
    • Loss of Biodiversity.
    • Biodiversity conservation – Hotspots, endangered organisms, extinction, Red Data Book, biosphere reserves, National parks and sanctuaries, sacred groves, in-situ & ex-situ.
  • Environmental issues:

    • Air pollution and its control.
    • Water pollution and its control.
    • Agrochemicals and their effects.
    • Solid waste management.
    • Radioactive waste management.
    • Greenhouse effect and global warming.
    • Ozone depletion.
    • Deforestation.
    • Any three case studies as success stories addressing environmental issues.

CUET (UG)

CUET (UG)

CUET Syllabus

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