CSIR NET Life Science Important Topics
                     CSIR NET 
Life Science 
Important 
topics
Being a broader subject, life science has many topics 
which make the CSIR NET syllabus huge.
So, how you have to deal with all these topics? 
Don’t worry as here we’ve provided the list of important 
topics of CSIR NET life science subject.
You are suggested to check the complete presentation..
Unit -1 Molecules and their Interaction Relevant to Biology
• The stabilizing bonds between macromolecules
• Protein conformations, dihedral bonds and 
Ramachandran plot, techniques to determine different 
conformations, and their sequencing.
• Metabolic pathways of carbohydrates including 
glycolytic and TCA cycle steps, regulation (specially 
allosteric and feedback inhibition), enzymes cofactors 
involved and stoichiometry, ETC and ATP synthesis 
(along with inhibitors) (very important)
Unit -1 Molecules and their Interaction Relevant to Biology
• Protein conformations, dihedral bonds and 
Ramachandran plot, techniques to determine different 
conformations, and their sequencing.
• Numerical questions on molarity, pH buffer and 
thermodynamic (delta G calculation in various cellular 
processes).
Get  Detaiilled  iinformatiion  for  CSIR NET Life Science  
from  Here..
Unit -2 Cellular Organisation 
• Protein transport pathways to various organelles, 
cytoskeletal components like actin, dynein, kinesin and 
their function in different cellular processes, enzymatic 
contents of cellular organelles like Golgi, lysosomes, 
peroxisomes, diseases associated with their impaired 
functions, protein modifications in ER.
• Lipid rafts, FRAP, freeze etching.
• Cellular fractionation-based questions will also be asked.
Unit -2 Cellular Organisation 
• Various types of ion channels, pumps, and transporters, 
their inhibitors (it’s very important to memorize their 
names and exact mode of inhibition, membrane 
destabilizing agents, detergent treatments (mostly 
experimental based questions are expected), membrane 
potential and what causes a change in the potential.
• Membrane structure and function – The composition and 
nature in detail, all types of phospholipids and proteins, 
their distribution in the membrane, RBC membrane 
components such as Band.
Unit – 3 Fundamental Processes
• RNA Transcription: Transcription factors in prokaryotes 
and eukaryotes, RNA polymerase, machinery, initiation 
complex formation, capping, polyadenylation, types of 
RNA splicing – spliceosome components, RNA editing.
• DNA Replication: Meselson Stahl Experiment, 
prokaryotic and eukaryotic replication, different types of 
DNA polymerases and their specific functions.
Unit – 3 Fundamental Processes
• Gene regulation in eukaryotes – Phage gene regulation – 
Lytic and lysogenic phases and genes expressed.
• Individual stages of the processes (initiation, elongation, 
termination) and the components involved (like 
enzymes, activators, inhibitors, repressors)
• Gene silencing methods, RNAi
Unit 4 - Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
• The 1st subunit
• The 2nd subunit deals with cell signalling
• The 3rd subunit is about cell communication
• 4th subunit
Unit 5 – Developmental Biology
• Gametogenesis with special emphasis on stages and 
chromosome number, fertilization process, slow block 
and fast block to polyspermy.
• Types of eggs and various cleavage patterns and 
examples of organisms in which it takes place, fate 
maps.
• The important terms and terminologies such as potency, 
commitment, induction, competence, cytoplasmic 
determinants and morphogenetic gradients – in-depth 
concepts with reference to the different developmental 
processes.
Unit 5 – Developmental Biology
• Drosophila developmental stages – all types of maternal 
and zygotic genes involved with the detailed process of 
function. Very scoring topic overall!
• Differentiating between terms such as specification, 
differentiation, and determination. Types of 
specifications such as autonomous, conditional and 
regulative with examples.
• From plant development focus on topics such as double 
fertilization, leaf development, meristems and their 
transition to flowering, and complete floral development 
(along with ABC model) with emphasis on the genes 
involved in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum.
Unit – 6 System Psychology - Plant
• Biotic and abiotic stress – Plant’s detailed mechanisms 
for adapting to different stress conditions.
• Sensory photobiology – phytochrome, cryptochrome, 
phototropin, photoperiodism, short-day plants, long-day 
plants, behavior and response of a plant to different 
colored lights.
Unit – 6 System Psychology - Plant
• Photosynthesis – C2, C3, C4, CAM pathway, TCA, 
photorespiration, oxidative phosphorylation, cyclic and 
noncyclic photophosphorylation.
• Solute transport, Water potential concept.
• Stomatal opening and closure by various triggers.
Unit – 7 System Psychology – Animal
• Cardiac cycle, heartbeats, blood pressure, blood volume 
regulation, different serum contents.
• Different neurotransmitters and action potential, you 
may expect a combined question with Unit 2 with 
respect to membrane or Unit 4 with respect to cell 
signaling.
• Gaseous exchange hemoglobin, myoglobin, their 
behavior with oxygen like left and right shift.
Unit – 7 System Psychology – Animal
• Kidney filtration system, structure, and function of 
different parts of a nephron, regulation of water 
balance.
• Sense organs – structure and function of different parts 
of the ear.
• Reproduction-hormones in processes such as 
gametogenesis and ovulation.
Unit 8 – Inheritance Biology 
• Different genetic crosses, pedigree, ABO blood grouping, 
multiple genes, complementation, mitotic and meiotic 
non-disjunction, tetrad analysis
• Mutations (mutational studies based questions 
expected) which can be also covered under Unit 3.
• Microbial genetics and interrupted mating experiments, 
(Hfr mapping, methods of genetic transfers – 
transformation, conjugation, transduction and sex-
duction, mapping genes by interrupted mating).
Unit 8 – Inheritance Biology 
• Mendelian ratios, their statistics, terms like 
codominance, incomplete dominance, pleiotropy, 
genomic imprinting, penetrance, expressivity, 
phenocopy, linkage, crossing over, sex linkage, sex 
limited and sex influenced characters, maternal 
inheritance and various gene interactions
Unit – 9 Diversity of Life Forms
• Different protozoan and bacterial diseases.
• alpha-beta-gamma taxonomy.
• binomial nomenclature.
• The evolutionary relationships among taxa (graphical or 
phylogenetic tree, common ancestor based questions 
expected).
• Hierarchical taxa.
• common parasite and pathogens for different hosts.
Unit – 10 Ecological Principles
• Rules in Ecology like Bergmann’s rule, Allen’s rule, 
Gloger’s rule, Yoda’s law.
• Pyramids of energy and population, thermal 
stratification in lentic ecosystem
• Population Ecology – r and k selection, Hardy Weinberg 
Law, gene pool, Concepts and rate of change in gene 
frequency through natural selection, survivorship 
curves, population characteristics and regulation, 
population growth curves, metapopulation, terms like 
demes, dispersal, interdemic extinction, age-structured 
population are important.
Unit – 10 Ecological Principles
• The structure of an ecological organization, like 
organisms, population, community, ecosystem, biomes, 
and biosphere. It is required to have a good knowledge 
of the major biomes of the world.
• Basic Ecology: Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene P. 
Odum.
• Biosphere reserves and sanctuaries in different states of 
India, the difference between adaptation and 
acclimatization, recent concerns like anthropological 
activities, global warming, environmental pollution, 
monitoring, its effects on biodiversity, Project Tiger.
• Structure and components of different types of 
ecosystems like terrestrial, forest, grassland and 
aquatic.
Unit – 11 Evolution and Behavior
• Phylogenetic tree and cladogram, molecular evolution, 
molecular divergence, clocks, tools, protein, and 
nucleotide gene analysis, new protein or gene origin, 
duplication, divergence.
• The concept of speciation types such as allopatric, 
parapatric and sympatric
• Genetic drift changes through natural selection.
• Ensure you know all the types of selection like 
directional, stabilizing and disruptive
• Concept clarity should be there about the founder’s 
effect and bottleneck effect
Unit – 11 Evolution and Behavior
• Natural selection – Lamarck concept, Darwinism, 
adaptation, variation, struggle, fitness, the spontaneity 
of mutation.
• Geological time scale – Ontology, evolutionary history, 
Major events in different eras, periods, epochs. You can 
use some mnemonic code to memorize them.
• Concept of Oparin and Haldane; Experiment of Miller.
• Adaptive radiation, endosymbiotic theory.
Unit – 12 Applied Biology
• Various bioresources, and uses in biodiversity, 
bioremediation and phytoremediation, purpose and the 
different organisms involved.
• You may expect some experimental questions on 
marker-assisted selection breeding of qualitative and 
quantitative traits or for disease resistance in plant 
breeding.
• Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer process.
• Gene therapy.
• Different tissue culture requirements for both plants and 
animals.
• Biosensors.
Unit 13 – Methods in Biology
• mmunological techniques such as ELISA, RIA, western 
blot, immunoprecipitation, flow cytometry, 
immunofluorescence microscopy, FISH and GISH.
• T-test, X2 test
• Recombinant DNA technology: RNA, DNA and proteins 
isolation, separation and analytical techniques (1D and 
2D gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing gels), 
cloning,
• Recombinant protein expression using various bacterial, 
animal and plant vectors (cosmid, BAC and YAC 
vectors), genomic and cDNA libraries.
Unit 13 – Methods in Biology
• Statistical Methods – Mainly questions will be asked 
from probability distributions such as Binomial, Poisson 
and normal.
• Biophysical methods such as UV/visible, fluorescence 
spectroscopy, circular dichroism, NMR, ESR 
spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, NMR, different types of 
mass spectrometry.
• Electrophysiological methods – Single neuron recording, 
patch-clamp recording, ECG, Brain activity recording, 
PET, MRI, fMRI, CAT.
Thank 
You!