Plant Biotechnology – UG Courses

Undergraduate courses offered by the Department

ABT 301 Plant Biotechnology (2+1)	Course offered to B.Sc. (Hons.) Agri., B.Tech. (Horti.), B.Sc.(Hons.) Sericulture, B.Tech. (AIT) and B.S. (ABM)
ABT 211 Food Biotechnology and its Applications (2+1)	Course offered to B.Tech. (Food Technology)
ABT 311 Elementary Plant Biotechnology (2+1)	Course offered to B.Sc.(Hons.) Horticulture

B.Tech. (Biotechnology)

About the Programme

The B. Tech (Biotechnology) program was started in the year 2002-03 and is a customized four year (8 semesters) degree programme offered to meet the growing demand for professional experts in biotechnology sector. This degree program suits well for research and innovation based career goals. The students are educated in both theory and practice, with the view to keep them abreast of the global advances in biotechnology.

The syllabus for B. Tech (Biotechnology) course is well designed and revised based on the recommendations of the ICAR Fifth Deans’ Committee and considering the requirements of the students for higher studies and placement at biotechnology research laboratories, agricultural industries, pharma and bioinformatics industry and supporting sectors. The programme includes problem based and independent learning model by assignments, Student READY programmes that include experiential learning and Biotechnology Work Experience (in the form of internship) is designed for 90 days in reputed national and international institutes and industries. Also students take up Institutional and Industrial Education tour to gain knowledge on Research and Development activities of leading national and international institutes and industries.

Frequently, field trips and exposure trips are taken to commercial labs/institutes for gaining hands on experience and special lectures by nationally and globally renowned experts are also arranged. The programme is facilitated by the well trained faculty from the Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The centre has state of-the-art laboratory facilties, well stocked digital libraries, e-classrooms and Wi-Fi facility for online retrieval of information. As part of Student READY programme students take up research projects under the guidance of faculty as mentor. To tone the organizational skill of the students, a National Level Technical Symposium – Bioconcorrenza is conducted as two days annual event with various students’ competitions, special lectures by experts, oral and poster presentation by students.

Feedback as a mechanism of self‐regulation in an academic system is followed by the university to maintain high academic standards. TNAU is committed to obtain timely and appropriate feedback from different stake holders and is acted upon to make quality as the defining element for the University. Feedback is received from a set of well-defined questionnaire from various stakeholders, viz., students, parents, employers.

TNAU strongly encourages the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) based education and is being followed in the undergraduate and post graduate teaching programmes. Students are provided with e-books and array of e-resources for the courses they undertake. Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology has a dedicated high speed internet connectivity as part of the sub centre of BTIS-DISC network for facilitating the e-learning capabilities of the B.Tech.(Biotechnology) students. Students have access to free Wifi throughout campus in key places identified as Wifi zones. Students’ semester registration and other student related academic activities are done through Integrated Student Management Systems. Further, students are also encouraged to undertake online courses on science and business management skills offered through Open source platforms like NPTEL, SWAYAM, a Government of India initiative, and courses offered through international platforms like Coursera and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

 B.Tech. (Biotechnology) Programme Outcomes (PO)

PO1	Knowledge: Apply the knowledge and principles of basic sciences, engineering and biological sciences to address problems and find solution to the complex issues of agriculture through biotechnological tools and techniques.
PO2	Problem analysis and devising solutions: Identify the agriculturally relevant researchable issues based on survey of literature, formulate a proposal and analyze complex agricultural problems for arriving substantiated conclusions using integrated approach considering public health and safety, societal, and environmental implications.
PO3	Conduct investigations of complex problems: Ability to formulate project proposal, use research-based knowledge and methods including design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, for arriving logical and acceptable solutions for the problems.
PO4	Usage of modern tools and techniques: Develop modern tools and techniques, apply appropriate scientific procedures, and follow prediction and modeling based problem solving approaches to address complex agricultural problems understanding the limitations and technical feasibility.
PO5	Biotechnology and society: Apply reasoning for the issues, informed by the contextual knowledge of the problems in hand and assess the risk associated with the societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues of the problems and the consequent responsibilities relevant to the professional practice of the discipline.
PO6	Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the technological solutions developed through biotechnology in contexts of society and the environment, and demonstrate the knowledge need for sustainable development in judicious use of biotechnology tools and technique.
PO7	Professional Ethics: Apply ethical principles and commit to follow professional ethics and norms and guidelines in the practice of biotechnology responsibly.
PO8	Work efficiency: Ability to function effectively as an individual and as a member or leader in diverse teams in multidisciplinary settings for carrying out challenging tasks and provides acceptable solutions involving views of members for increased productivity.
PO9	Communication skills: Make effective communication on complex agricultural issues and solutions drawn from biotechnological activities with the scientific community and society at large, and ability to comprehend and make oral and written presentations effectively.
PO10	Life-long learning: Understanding the dynamism of biological sciences, technological changing needs are to be felt, positive attitude are to developed so as to prepare and engage in adapting to such changes through the process of life-long learning.

Programme Specific Outcomes (PSO)

PSO1	Impart a high quality husbandry education in biotechnology and discipline students to meet out future challenges in agriculture.
PSO2	Understand the nature and basic concepts of cell biology, Biochemistry, Molecular biology and bioinformatics.
PSO3	Analyse the complex problems of agriculture and address issues through use of modern tools and techniques in biotechnology.
PSO4	Perform experimental procedures as per established laboratory standards in the areas of Biochemistry, Molecular biology, Plant tissue culture, Genetic Engineering, Molecular Ecology, Molecular marker Technology and Bioinformatics.
PSO5	Understand the applications of biotechnology in all spheres of agriculture and develop crops with improved productivity thereby increasing farmers’ income, better human health and decreased environmental pollution.

 

Method of measuring attainment of PSOs

Programme specific outcomes are ascertained by periodic review of the teaching and research activities at the institute and presentation of the progress at leading national and international journals as research publications. Further independent expert reviews and teaching seminars are also conducted for evaluating the teachers and students for keeping the morale and scientific temper and for the wholesome development of education and research activities of the department.

SEMESTER WISE DISTRIBUTION OF COURSES

SEMESTER I

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	MAT 112	Basic Mathematics – I (Remedial course)	2+1*	PS&IT
2.	BTB 101	Introduction to Biotechnology	2+1	Plant Biotech.
3.	BTB 102	Cell Biology	1+1	Plant Biotech.
4.	AGR 114	Crop Production Technology	1+1	Agronomy
5.	PBG 111	Basic Genetics	2+1	GPB
6.	FSN 112	Food Science and Processing	1+1	PHTC
7.	ENG 101	Comprehension and Communication Skills in English	1+1	Languages
8.	ENS 101	Environmental Studies and Disaster Management	2+1	Env. Sciences
9.	TAM 101 / ENG 103	Ilakiyakiyangalil Velanmaiyum Ariviyal Tamizh Payanakamum       / Development Education (for Non Tamil students)	0+1	Languages
10.	PED 101	Physical Education	0+1#	Phy. Education
11.	PED 102	Yoga for Human Excellence	0+1#	Phy. Education
12.	NCC 101/ NSS 101	National Cadet Corps / National Service Scheme	0+1#
	Total		10+11= 21/12+12= 24

^#NC – Non-gradial Compulsory     *Remedial Course for students not studied Mathematics in 10+2

SEMESTER II

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	MAT 113	Basic Mathematics – II (Remedial course)	2+1*	PS&IT
2.	BTB 103	Molecular Biology	2+1	Plant Biotech.
3.	BIF 101	Introductory Bioinformatics	1+1	PMB&B
4.	COM 112	Information and Communication Technology	1+1	PS&IT
5.	BIC 102	General Biochemistry	2+1	Biochemistry
6.	AGM 111	Microbiology	2+1	Agrl. Micro.
7.	SAC 101	Fundamentals of Soil Science	2+1	SS&AC
8.	CRP 111	Plant Physiology	2+1	Crop Physiology
9.	PHY 102	Biophysics	1+1	NS&T
10.	PED 101	Physical Education	0+1#	Phy. Education
11.	NCC 101/ NSS 101	National Cadet Corps / National Service Scheme	0+1#
	Total		13+8 = 21/15+9 = 24

^* Remedial Course for students who has not studied Mathematics in 10+2

^#Registered and Continued from I semester

SEMESTER III

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 201	Recombinant DNA Technology	2+1	Plant Biotech.
2.	BTB 202	Plant Tissue Culture	1+1	Plant Biotech.
3.	BIF 211	Computational Biology	2+1	PMB&B
4.	MAT 211	Biomathematics	2+1	PS&IT
5.	AEN 221	Fundamentals of Entomology and  Pest Management	2+1	Ag. Entomology
6.	PBG 212	Classical and Molecular Cytogenetics	1+1	GPB
7.	PAT 251	Fundamentals of Plant Pathology, Nematology and Disease management	2+1	Plant Pathology
8.	AGM 211	Microbial Genetics	1+1	Ag. Micro.
9.	BTH 221	Production Technology of Horticultural Crops	2+1	Horticulture
10.	PED 101	Physical Education	0+1#	Phy. Education
11.	NCC 101/ NSS 101	National Cadet Corps / National Service Scheme	0+1#
	Total		15+9 = 24

^#Registered and Continued from I semester

SEMESTER IV

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 203	Electronics and Instrumentation in Biotechnology	1+1	Plant Biotech.
2.	BTB 204	Molecular Genetics	2+0	Plant Biotech.
3.	BTB 205	Plant Genetic Transformation	1+1	Plant Biotech.
4.	BTB 206	Bioprospecting of Molecules and Genes	1+1	Plant Biotech.
5.	BTB 207	Immunology	2+1	Plant Biotech.
6.	BTB 208	Fundamentals of Molecular Pharming and Biopharmaceuticals	1+1	Plant Biotech.
7.	STA 201	Statistical Methods	1+1	PS&IT
8.	AEC 202	Economics and Marketing	2+1	Ag. Economics
9.	AEX 201	Communication Skills and Personality Development	1+1	Agrl. Extension
10.	NST 201	Fundamentals and Applications of Nanotechnology	1+0	Nano Sci.& Tech
11.	PBG 213	Basics of Plant Breeding	2+1	GPB
12.	SST 211	Seed Biology, Production and Management	1+1	SS&T
13.	PED 101	Physical Education	0+1#	Phy. Education
14.	NCC 101/ NSS 101	National Cadet Corps / National Service Scheme	0+1#
	Total		16+10 = 26

^#Registered and Continued from I semester

SEMESTER V

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 301	Molecular Marker Technology	2+1	Plant Biotech.
2.	BTB 302	Genomics and Proteomics	1+1	Plant Biotech.
3.	BTB 303	Molecular Ecology and Evolution	1+1	Plant Biotech.
4.	BIC 301	Enzymology and Enzyme Technologies	2+1	Biochemistry
5.	AGM 311	Food Biotechnology	1+1	Ag. Micro.
6.	AMP 301	Animal Biotechnology	2+1	Animal Husbandry
7.	COM  311	Agro-informatics	1+1	PS&IT
8.	PBG 311	Breeding of Field and Horticultural Crops	1+1	GPB
9.	ARM 301	Entrepreneurship Development and Business Management	1+1	Agrl.& Rural Management
10.	ENS 311	Biodiversity and its Conservation	1+1	Environ.sciences
11.	NCC 101	National Cadet Corps	0+1#
	Total		13+10 = 23

^#Registered and Continued from I semester

SEMESTER VI

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 304	Biosafety and Bioethics	1+0	Plant Biotech.
2.	TIP 351	Intellectual Property Rights and Applications in Biotechnology	1+0	Trade & IP
3.	AGM 312	Microbial Biotechnology	1+1	Ag. Micro
4.	STA 323	Biostatistics	1+1	PS&IT
	Electives – Plant Biotechnology Module(18 Credits)@
5.	BTB 305	Plant Tissue Culture and its Applications	2+1	Plant Biotech.
6.	BTB 306	Principles and Applications of Plant Genetic Transformation	2+1	Plant Biotech.
7.	BTB 307	Applications of Genomics and Proteomics	2+1	Plant Biotech.
8.	BTB 308	Molecular Breeding in Field Crops	2+1	Plant Biotech.
9.	BTB 309	Molecular Breeding of Horticultural Crops and Forest Trees	2+1	Plant Biotech.
10.	BTB 310	Epigenetics and Gene Regulation	2+1	Plant Biotech.
11.	NCC 101	National Cadet Crops	0+1#
	Total		16+8 = 24

Electives – Bioinformatics Module^@

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	COM 313	Programming for Bioinformatics	2+1	PS&IT
2.	BIF 304	Pharmacogenomics	2+1	Plant Mol. Biology and Bioinformatics
3.	BIF 307	Metabolomics and System Biology	2+1
4.	BIF 351	Bioinformatics Tools and Biological Databases	2+1
5.	BIF 352	Structural Bioinformatics	2+1
6.	STA 325	Computational Methods for Data Analysis	2+1	PS&IT

^# Registered and Continued from I semester

^@ Electives of 18 credits from either Plant Biotechnology or Bioinformatics module to be adopted

SEMESTER VII

S.No.	Course No.	Course title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 401	Student READY – Skill Development Module (Biotechnology Work experience in Industry and Institutes) in Plant biotechnology area- 20 weeks Outside the campus: 12 weeks In the campus: 8 weeks	0+20	Plant Biotech.
2.	BTB 402	Educational Tour	0+2^	Plant Biotech.
		Total	20+2 = 22

^{^}NC – Non-gradial compulsory courses

SEMESTER VIII

S.No.	Course No.	Course Title	Credit hours	Course offering Department
1.	BTB 403	Student READY – Project Formulation, Execution and Presentation	0+10	Plant Biotech.
2.	BTB 451 to BTB 458*	Student READY – Entrepreneurial Development in Biotechnology	0+10	Plant Biotech.
	BIF 451, BIF 453, BIF 454*
		Total	0+20 =20

* One course among the following EDB module from Biotechnology / Bioinformatics to be chosen

Biotechnology
BTB 451	Micropropagation of Commercially Important Crops	0+10
BTB 452	Secondary Metabolite Production from Plant Cell Cultures	0+10
BTB 453	Molecular Diversity Analysis of Plants and their Associated Organisms	0+10
BTB 454	Marker-assisted Introgression of Target Genes	0+10
BTB 455	Bioprospecting for Novel Biomolecules / Genes	0+10
BTB 456	Isolation and Characterization of Agronomically Important Genes	0+10
BTB 457	Genetic Transformation and Evaluation of Transgenic Plants for Stress Resistance	0+10
BTB 458	Recombinant Protein Production in Microbial Systems	0+10
Bioinformatics
BIF 451	Molecular Modeling and Docking	0+10
BIF 453	Database structuring and hosting	0+10
BIF 454	Bioinformatics tools development	0+10

 

Department of Plant Biotechnology – B. Tech(Biotechnology) – Course Outcomes

 

BTB 101 Introduction to Biotechnology (2+1)

CO1	Biotechnology in an historical perspective
CO2	Scope and Importance of Biotechnology.
CO3	Familiarization of the terms associated with plant tissue culture.
CO4	Briefing the specializations in the field of biotechnology viz., Agricultural Biotechnology, Microbial biotechnology, Medical biotechnology, Animal biotechnology, Marine biotechnology etc.
CO5	Felt applications in the different domains of biotechnology.
CO6	The concept of recombinant DNA technology.
CO7	Briefing the methods and tools associated with recombinant DNA technology.
CO8	The concept of Genetically modified organisms.
CO9	Introducing genomics, proteomics and molecular markers

BTB 102 Cell Biology (1+1)

CO1 Understand the importance, evolution and diversity of cells.  CO2 Learns to visualize the cells by employing different types of microscopes.  CO3 Able to describe the organization, structure and functions of cell organelles.  CO4 Understand the biochemical pathways associated with the cellular organelles.  CO5 Rationalize different transport mechanisms occurring in the cell.  CO6 Understand the cell signaling mechanisms.  CO7 Perceive over all mechanism of cell growth and cell cycle and division.  CO8 Understand the sequential events that occur during mitosis and meiosis.  CO9 Introduce the concepts of stem cell and cell culturing techniques.  CO10 Sensitized on cancer types, oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.

BTB 103 Molecular Biology (2+1)

CO1 Learning structural levels of nucleic acids- DNA and RNA and genome organization in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.  CO2 Understanding the concept of Gene and the gene architecture.  CO3 Overview of the central dogma of life and various molecular events  CO4 Learning molecular events in the DNA replication and role of different enzymes.  CO5 Understanding the principles and applications of Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR).  CO6 Molecular Events of Transcription and processing of transcripts, RNA editing.  CO7 Molecular Events of Translation leading to protein synthesis and Post translational modification.  CO8 Understanding the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes using operon concept and Eukaryotes.  CO9 Learn the methods of DNA sequencing and various tools and techniques of molecular biology.  CO10 Learn about the Molecular markers and its classification and applications.

 

BTB 201 Recombinant DNA Technology (2+1)

CO1 Major events in the development of rDNA technology. Introduction of rDNA into bacterial cells. Selection of transformants and recombinants – lac selection.  CO2 Learning tools and techniques in rDNA technology- DNA manipulative enzymes.  CO3 Acquire skills on techniques of construction of recombinant DNA – Cloning vectors and isolation of gene of interest.  CO4 Construction of genomic DNA library and cDNA library  CO5 Methods for selection of recombinants and analysis of cloned genes by sequencing methods. Expression of recombinant protein in E. coli and eukaryotes  CO6 Identify problems associated with production of recombinant proteins and protein purification and devising strategies to overcome problem.  CO7 Learning various application of rDNA technology in evolving plants for resistance to pest and disease, tolerance to herbicides and abiotic factors.  CO8 Learning techniques for production of pharmaceuticals, growth hormones, vaccines, gene therapy in expression system.  CO9 Knowledge on environmental applications of genetic engineering through bioremediation.

BTB 202 Plant Tissue Culture (1+1)

CO1 Learning important milestones in the plant tissue culture.  CO2 Understanding the concepts and principles of Plant tissue culture.  CO3 Learning the techniques of sterilization and monitoring method of sterilization.  CO4 Learning different pathways of plant regeneration under in vitro conditions – organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis.  CO5 Techniques of establishing cell suspension culture. Synthetic seeds and applications.  CO6 Understanding the techniques of virus elimination – methods of virus indexing. Meristem and Shoot tip culture and Applications.  CO7 Performing procedures for Micropropagation techniques in rose and banana.  CO8 Culturing of reproductive structures – anther, microspores, embryos, endosperm, Ovule and ovary cultures and methods to produce haploids.  CO9 Protoplast isolation, culture and protoplast fusion – applications -. Somaclonal variation – applications.  CO10 Learning methods to conserve germplasm under In vitro. Production of Secondary metabolites production through cell culture.

BTB 203 Electronics and Instrumentation in Biotechnology (1+1)

CO1 Learning diodes in electronic circuits. PN junction diode, forward and reverse characteristics.  CO2 Analyse and design Transistors and concept of electronic circuits in instrumentation.  CO3 Learning working principles of laboratory equipments – centrifuges; Laminar air flow; Autoclaves, pH meter; Fermenters; shakers; electrophoresis, gel documentation systems.  CO4 Understanding the principles and operation of ELISA readers; Spectrophotometers; Freeze driers/lyophilizes; Gene pulser; Particle gun; Plant growth chambers.  CO5 Learning principle and operations of Thermal cyclers; Real-time PCR; DNA synthesizer; DNA sequencer; Microscopes: Light, stereo, phase contrast and inverted.

 

BTB 204 Molecular Genetics (2+0)

CO1 Learn the basics of classical, molecular and evolutionary genetics.  CO2 Understands th process of Genetic Recombination – and the elements of recombination in E. coli, RecA, RecBCD, and Chi.  CO3 Knowledge on DNA Structure and its variations, properties and modification of DNA.  CO4 Learning the genetic changes due to mutations- Point Mutations, Deletions, Insertions, and Damage, DNA repair and recombination.  CO5 Overview of DNA packaging; Synthesis and processing of RNA and proteins; Regulation of gene expression.  CO6 Knowledge on the repetitive DNA sequences and transposable elements; Promoters and methods of isolation; Transcription factors- their classification and role in gene expression.  CO7 Understands genetic systems – Growing cells for genetics experiments – Genetic Selections – Mapping with Generalized Transducing Phage.  CO8 Learning the principles of Bacterial Sex.  CO9 Knowledge on the elements of Yeast and Drosophila Genetics  CO10 Learning the tools for plant molecular genetics – Epigenetic control of gene expression.  CO11 Details of the regulatory RNA and their role in gene regulation – Small RNAs, RNA interference and its applications.

 

BTB 205 Plant Genetic Transformation (1+1)

CO1 Detailed note on Agrobacterium mediated plant transformation and genetic elements present on the Ti plasmid  CO2 Description about direct gene transfer methods including microinjection, electroporation and biolistic gun.  CO3 Description on different methods to develop marker free plants.  CO4 Exposure to different aspects of chloroplast transformation and expression using viral vectors.  CO5 Different factors influencing transgene expression levels.  CO6 Different methods in analysis of transgenic plants.  CO7 GM detection techniques  CO8 Knowledge on different approach to manipulate fatty acid and starch biosynthesis.  CO9 Enhancement of shelf life in fruits and vegetables and modification of flower colours.  CO10 Current scenario on national and global status of transgenic crops.

 

BTB 206 Bioprospecting of Molecules and Genes (1+1)

CO1 Learning the concepts and practices of bioprospecting.  CO2 Knowledge on Traditional and modern bioprospecting.  CO3 Updated knowledge on the biodiversity in different agro ecological regions, endangered species, inventorisation and monitoring.  CO4 Perform procedures for the isolation and assay of bioactive compounds from microbes: bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi for antibiotics, antiviral compounds and anticancer agents; plant growth promoting bacteria, pharmacological potential of mushrooms.  CO5 Knowledge on the discovery of novel compounds from marine organisms –coral and sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms.  CO6 Bioprospecting of animal sources – fishes, spiders, insects, frog and arthropods for the identification of antibiotic peptides, neurotoxins and proteins.  CO7 Bioprospecting of plants for novel medicines and learn procedures for screening and isolation of pure compounds.  CO8 Bioprospecting of novel genes/biomolecules and enzymes for industrial and medicinal uses.  CO9 Awareness on the regulations and convention on Biological Diversity- Intellectual property rights- Patenting of new genes and/or bioactive principles.

 

BTB 207 Immunology (2+1)

CO1 Historical milestones in the field of immunology.  CO2 Overall Immune system of human beings, cells and organs involved in immunity.  CO3 The types of immunity.  CO4 The antigen- antibody interaction and different assays like immunodiffusions, immunoelectrophoresis, complement fixation test, radio immunoassay, ELISA, Western blotting, based on antigen-antibody interaction. Application of antigen-antibody interaction in diagnosis.  CO5 Role of major histocompatibility complex and mechanism behind immunogenic responses.  CO6 Transplantation and tumor immunology.  CO7 How Bacterial / viral / fungal diseases attack human immune system.  CO8 Vaccination and different types of vaccines.  CO9 Monoclonal and polyclonal antibody production.

 

BTB 208 Fundamentals of Molecular Pharming and Biopharmaceuticals (1+1)

CO1 Learning various analytical techniques and principles for separation of Biopharmaceuticals including Ion exchange chromatography, Affinity chromatography, Gel filtration chromatography, HPLC method for purification of proteins.  CO2 Acquiring Knowledge on Biopharmaceutical products- Human Insulin, Erythropoietin and recombinant HBsAg vaccine using case studies.  CO3 Learning strategies of drug development by Chemical modification of the proteins and peptides.  CO4 Learn the concept of molecular pharming by manipulation of genes, selection of expression vectors and In vitro transcription and translation.  CO5 Knowledge on the production system for recombinant proteins using plants and virus as expression systems.  CO6 Performing procedures for the Microbial fermentation and cell cultures.  CO7 Acquire updated knowledge on biopharming companies at India and International levels.

 

BTB 301 Molecular Marker Technology (2+1)

CO1 Understanding the genome and the need for markers in genome analysis and plant breeding.  CO2 Learn different types of DNA markers and their application.  CO3 Learning procedures for the development of microsatellites, SCAR and STS marker.  CO4 Knowledge on new generation markers – SNPs for whole genome analysis.  CO5 Perform experiments on the different methods for allele mining.  CO6 Details of the characterization of plant genetic resources using markers.  CO7 Learning the principles of genetic and physical mapping and the development of mapping population  CO8 Construction of linkage maps; QTL mapping – strategies and methods  CO9 Fine mapping of the targeted genomic regions – synteny among different genome for transferability of markers to related genomes  CO10 Learn principles, methods, advances in association mapping through case studies

 

BTB 302 Genomics and Proteomics (1+1)

CO1 Exposed to various strategies and methods of genome sequencing.  CO2 Students will be able to browse whole genome databases.  CO3 Will be able to conduct gene expression profiling.  CO4 Learn various bioinformatic tools of genomic data analysis  CO5 Learn on assigning gene function through mutagenesis and genetic engineering.  CO6 Will learn how the genome research can be applied in crop improvement research.

 

BTB 303 Molecular Ecology and Evolution (1+1)

CO1 Understanding Population ecology and population genetics.  CO2 Gain Knowledge in the fields of Phylogeography and behavioural ecology.  CO3 Knowing human, animal and plant evolution.  CO4 Learning molecular tools for ecological question  CO5 Understanding Chemical ecology of defense in plants and animals and pollination.  CO6 Understanding Invasive species, Endangered species and Genetic rescue- ex-situ and in situ conservation  CO7 Learning about need and outcome of IUCN projects.  CO8 Learning metagenomics.  CO9 Analysis of Impact of new innovations in molecular biology on ecological balance

 

BTB 304 Biosafety and Bioethics (1+0)

CO1 Detailed description on global status of genetically engineered crops, Asimolar conference on rDNA technology.  CO2 Brief description on the concerns of GE crops – animal and human health, environment, agriculture, horizontal gene transfer and general concerns.  CO3 Principles of safety assessment of transgenic plants and sequential steps in risk assessment.  CO4 Concepts of familiarity and substantial equivalence  CO5 Environmental risk assessment and food and feed safety assessment.  CO6 International biosafety regulations, Cartagena protocol, OECD consensus documents and Codex Alimentarius  CO7 Indian biosafety regulations, Biosafety research trials and GM labeling.  CO8 Brief description on bioethics, ethical issues on GM crops, Nuffield council on bioethics.

 

BTB 305 Plant Tissue Culture and its applications (2+1)

CO1 Knowledge on the organization of commercial PTC Lab  CO2 Brief overview of nutrient requirements and factors influencing plant tissue culture.  CO3 Perform procedures for the commercial scale micropropagation of ornamentals- Carnation, rose, anthurium, gerbera, Leaf foliages – Philodendron, dieffenbachia, plantation crops – date palm, arecanut.  CO4 Perform procedures for the micropropagation of the major medicinal plants like Coleus, Ocimum, Phyllanthus and tuber crops like potato, tapioca.  CO5 Micropropagation of woody perennials like Neem, Teak, Bamboo, Paulownia, Eucalyptus. And also the rare and endangered plants.  CO6 Techniques on the production of virus free plants by shoot meristem culture.  CO7 Learning methods for Virus elimination by Thermotherapy, cryotherapy and chemotherapy – and nucleic acids and serological assays.  CO8 Acquire information on the Hardening, Packaging and transportation of TC plants.  CO9 Updated knowledge on the National certification system – Guidelines for Accreditation of Test laboratory for virus diagnosis and genetic fidelity testing  CO10 Perform procedures for the production of secondary metabolites trough cell cultures production–steps. Large scale production through bioreactors.

 

BTB 306 Principles and Applications of Plant Genetic Transformation (2+1)

CO1 Agrobacterium mediated plant transformation; genetic engineering of the Ti plasmid. Direct gene transfer methods, biolistic gun and its advantages.  CO2 Analysis of transgenic plants by Polymerase chain reaction, Southern blot hybridization, Northern blot, Western blot, RT-PCR and ELISA.  CO3 Conduct experiments to study pattern of inheritance of transgenes-Genetic analysis-T1 and T2 generation, GM detection techniques.  CO4 Learns applications of transgenic plants in quality improvement by engineering seed storage proteins, manipulation of fatty acid and starch biosynthesis and through enhancement of shelf life of fruits and vegetables and modification of flower color.  CO5 Knowledge on the applications of transgenic technology for various agronomic traits like phytoremediation, herbicide tolerance, production of recombinant vaccines, plantibodies and therapeutic compounds.  CO6 Updated information on the recent trends in transgenics by analysis of the national and global status of transgenic plants

 

BTB 307 Applications of Genomics and Proteomics (2+1)

CO1 Learning about genome, the types and significance of repeats in the genome.  CO2 Learn strategies for Whole Genome Sequencing.  CO3 Perform procedures for the De novo and reference based assembly, Genome finishing and annotation.  CO4 Perform ORF, ab initio and homology based Gene prediction.  CO5 Assessing genomic variations- using DNA marker systems.  CO6 Knowledge on DNA chips and their use in transcriptome analysis.  CO7 Learn about the role of mutants and RNAi in functional genomics.  CO8 Acquire skills in the techniques of Site directed mutagenesis, Transposon tagging and targeted genome editing technologies.  CO9 Perform protein 3D structure modelling and proteome analysis.  CO10 Understand protein- protein interaction by FRET, yeast two hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation.

 

BTB 308 Molecular Breeding in field crops (2+1)

CO1 Learning breeding methods for self and cross pollinated crops and understanding the limitations of conventional breeding.  CO2 Learn the principles of genetic linkage with suitable examples and procedures for development of mapping population for utility in the linkage mapping studies.  CO3 Understanding the techniques of mapping major gene of interest and strategies.  CO4 Fine mapping of the targeted genomic regions using saturated linkage map and high resolution map.  CO5 Learning the SNPs genotyping methodologies for major gene discovery.  CO6 Perform the procedures for Marker Assisted selection trough foreground and background selection.  CO7 Learn the approaches of transgenic breeding for specific traits with examples.  CO8 Updated knowledge on the commercial applications of MAS.

 

BTB 309 Molecular Breeding of Horticultural crops and Forest Trees (2+1)

CO1 Understanding the reproductive biology of major fruit and forest crops.  CO2 Learn the basic methods of fruit crop improvement and limitations of fruit crop breeding.  CO3 Learn breeding methods of self and cross pollinated vegetable and flower crops.  CO4 Knowledge on the pseudo test cross mapping strategy in fruit crops.  CO5 Learn techniques of molecular mapping in vegetable crops.  CO6 Transgenic approaches with tree crops and utility.  CO7 Approaches for the marker assisted breeding in forest plants.

 

BTB 310 Epigenetics and Gene Regulation (2+1)

CO1 Brief description on history of epigenetics and scope of epigenetics. Mechanism of DNA methylation and histone modification.  CO2 Epigenetic changes in response to external stimuli with examples.  CO3 DNA methylation at CpG Islands and its influence on gene expression.  CO4 DNA methylation in plants. Genes responsible for epigenetic modification in plants.  CO5 History of small RNA and their biogenesis. siRNA mediated gene regulation, heterochromatin formation and plant virus protection.  CO6 Biogenesis of miRNA and their role in developmental gene regulation.  CO7 RNA editing mechanism and genome imprinting.  CO8 Description on molecular technique involved in identification of DNA methylation, bisulfite sequencing. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance with examples.

 

BTB 401 Student READY – Skill Development Module (0+20)

CO1 Capacity building and skill development of the students in planning, development, formulation, monitoring and evaluation of project for entrepreneurial proficiency.  CO2 Learn specific techniques on Plant Biotechnology/Bioinformatics and get hands-on training on the research theme of the host industry/institution.  CO3 Develop communication skills through inter-personal interactions with lab members at the host institute and broaden knowledge.  CO4 Provides host of opportunities for students to prospect for their future in science.  CO5 Learn strategies to trouble shoot in experimental failures and undertake alternative task.

 

BTB 402 Educational Tour (0+2)

CO1 Exposure to leading national and international institutions and their working environment and the state-of the art facilities.  CO2 Learn on the different agro-climatic zones across India and the cropping pattern in various parts of India.  CO3 Develop communication skills by interactions with their faculty and broaden knowledge.  CO4 Motivate students by exploring the possibilities and future career in the science pursuit.  CO5 Inculcates general discipline and mass conduct among students when they move as teams.

 

 

BTB 403 Students READY – Project Formulation, Execution and Presentation (0+10)

CO1 Students learn to analyse the researchable problems and devised strategies to overcome in project mode.  CO2 Formulate project proposal with key indicators for monitoring the progress.  CO3 Learn to execute the project and perform mid-term corrections as alternative strategies.  CO4 Helps students learn general conduct and discipline of working in team environment in lab.  CO5 Inculcates creativity in the execution of the project and presentation.

 

Student READY – Entrepreneurial Development in Biotechnology (0+10)

CO1 Entrepreneurial Development in Biotechnology for a period of 10 weeks On-campus/Off-campus in one of the following skill development courses based on students interest. * Micropropagation of Commercially Important Crops. * Secondary Metabolite Production from Plant Cell Cultures  * Molecular Diversity Analysis of Plants and their Associated Organisms.  * Marker-assisted Introgression of Target Genes  * Bioprospecting for Novel Biomolecules / Genes  * Isolation and Characterization of Agronomically Important Genes  * Genetic Transformation and Evaluation of Transgenic Plants for Stress Resistance  * Recombinant Protein Production in Microbial Systems  CO2 Students learns tools and techniques in various modules of biotechnology  CO3 Perform procedures for the De novo and reference based assembly, Genome finishing and annotation.  CO4 Develop ability to plan and perform experiments.  CO5 Inculcates the team learning environment when students are posed with challenging tasks.  CO6 Ability to formulate winning project proposals for establishing independent firms.  CO7 Knowledge on resource mobilization, cost analysis and economics of the project.

 

ABT 301 Plant Biotechnology (2+1)(Course offered to B.Sc.(Hons.) Agri., B.Tech. (AIT), B.Tech. (Horti.) and B.S. (ABM) degrees)

CO1 Detailed note on Plant tissue culture including Regeneration methods morphogenesis, organogenesis and embryogenesis and Plant tissue culture types.  CO2 In applied plant tissue culture micro propagation of banana and ornamental plants, Meristem tip culture ,synthetic seeds; secondary metabolite production.  CO3 Detailed coverage on basic molecular biology Genome organization- prokaryotes vs eukaryotes- Central dogma of life – Structure of nucleic acids ,DNA replication, amino acids and their classification- genetic codes, transcription, translation and protein synthesis.  CO4 Structure of a gene, regulation of gene expression, Operon concept.  CO5 Basic techniques in molecular biology, Blotting techniques- Polymerase chain reaction- DNA sequencing methods.  CO6 Detailed study on Recombinant DNA Technology with DNA manipulation enzymes: Polymerases, restriction endonucleases and ligases , Different types of vectors: plasmids, phagemids, cosmids, BAC, Construction of recombinant DNA molecules and Bacterial transformation.  CO7 Direct and indirect gene transfer methods in plants: microinjection, electroporation, particle bombardment, Agrobacterium mediated method – Tissue specific promoters, selectable and scorable markers, reporter genes- Molecular analysis of transgenic plants  CO8 Transgenic plants: herbicide, pest and disease resistant, abiotic stress resistant, nutritional enhancement and traits for improved quality- Detection of GMOs – regulations and biosafety.  CO9 Knowledge on Molecular Marker Technology DNA markers, hybridization based markers (RFLP), PCR based markers: RAPD, SSR, AFLP, and SNPs – DNA fingerprinting of crop varieties, Development of mapping populations- linkage and QTL analysis.  CO10 Detailed study In Molecular Breeding including applications of Marker Assisted Selection in crop improvement and Applications of Plant Genomics and genome databases.