Important Topics and Best Books for IIT JAM Biotechnology Preparation 2025

Biology

44

Chemistry

20

Mathematics

18

Physics

18

Cell Biology: Structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; Membrane structure and function;

Organelles and internal organization of the eukaryotic cell Protein trafficking in a eukaryotic cell; Cell communication – signalling pathways: endocrine and paracrine signalling; Extracellular matrix and apoptosis; Cell cycle – stages of mitosis and meiosis, and control of cell division cycle.

Biochemistry: Structure and function of biological macromolecules; Allostery; Enzymes – basic mechanisms of enzyme catalysis, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, enzyme inhibition, vitamins as coenzymes, and regulation; Bioenergetics – free-energy change, high-energy compounds, biological oxidation-reduction reactions and reduction potential; Metabolism – glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, urea cycle, and regulation of glycolysis and TCA cycle.

Genetics: Mendel’s laws; Inheritance patterns of polygenic traits; Mendelian inheritance patterns of human disorders; Pedigree analysis; Chromosomal basis of inheritance; Genetic recombination; Mapping genes on chromosomes based on linkage analysis; Plant breeding.

Evolution: Darwinian view – natural selection, fossil record and descent with modification; Population genetics – sources of genetic variation, gene pools and allele frequencies, Hardy-Weinberg equation, genetic drift, gene flow and adaptive evolution; Different types of speciation; Phylogenetic classification; Origin of life – abiotic synthesis of biological macromolecules, protocell, dating fossils and origin of multicellularity.

Microbiology: Isolation; Cultivation; Structural features of viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa; Pathogenic microorganisms; Nutrition-based classification of microbes; Microbial metabolism; Growth kinetics; Submerged fermentation techniques; Microbial genetics. Plant Biology: Types of tissues and organs; Primary and secondary growth; Morphogenesis; Transport in vascular plants; Plant nutrition; Development of flowering plants – gametophytic and sporophytic generations, different developmental phases, genetic control of flowering, gametogenesis, incompatibility, embryogenesis, dormancy, germination and environmental influence;Plant hormones; Photobiology; Plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses

Molecular Biology: Landmark experiments that established DNA is the genetic material; DNA replication; Proof-reading and repair of DNA; DNA recombination; Transcription; RNA processing; Translation; Regulation of gene expression including operons bacteria and differential gene expression in multicellular eukaryotes.

Animal Biology: Digestive, circulatory, respiratory, excretory, nervous, reproductive and endocrine

systems; Basics of immunology – Innate and adaptive immunity, Immune cells and Immunoglobulins;

Animal development – Fertilization, embryonic pattern formation, cleavage, gastrulation, cellular

differentiation and morphogenesis.

Ecology: Climate patterns; Terrestrial and aquatic biomes; Environmental constraints on speciesdistribution; Factors affecting population density; Interactions among communities;

Biotechnology: Plant tissue culture; Cloning of animals through somatic cell nuclear transfer; Applications of recombinant DNA technology in medicine, agriculture and forensic science.

Units and measurements; Motion in one and two dimensions; Laws of motion; Work and kinetic energy; Conservation of energy; System of particles and rotational motion; Mechanical properties of solids and fluids; Thermal properties of matter; Heat and laws of thermodynamics; Kinetic theory of gases; Electric charge and field; Electric potential and capacitance; Current, resistance and simple circuits; Moving charges and magnetic field; Magnetism and matter; Electromagnetic induction; Electromagnetic waves; Alternating currents; Optics: Geometrical Optics – Reflection by spherical mirrors, Refraction at spherical surfaces and lenses, Total internal reflection and Optical instruments;

Wave optics – Reflection and refraction of plane waves, Interference, Diffraction, Polarization, and Young’s experiment: Dual nature of radiation and matter; Atoms, nuclei and nuclear physics; Semiconductor materials, devices and simple circuits.

Structure and properties of Atoms: Bohr's theory; Periodicity in properties.

Bonding in molecules: Chemical bonding; Complex formation; Physical and chemical basis of

molecular interactions.

Chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium: Chemical equilibrium; Chemical

thermodynamics (first and second law); and Chemical kinetics (zero and first order reactions).

Physical and chemical properties of compounds: Chemical catalysis; Acid-base concepts;

Concepts of pH and buffer; Conjugative effects and resonance; Inductive effects; Electromeric effects;

Photochemistry; and Electrochemistry.

Physical and chemical properties of compounds: Chemical catalysis; Acid-base concepts;

Concepts of pH and buffer; Conjugative effects and resonance; Inductive effects; Electromeric effects;

Photochemistry; and Electrochemistry.

Instrumental techniques - Spectroscopy: fundamentals of molecular spectroscopy, emission and

absorption spectroscopy, UV-Vis, IR and 1-D proton NMR spectroscopy, basics of mass

spectrometry; Basics of calorimetry; Basic concepts of crystallography.

Sets; Relations and Functions; Mathematical Induction; Logarithms; Complex numbers; Linear and Quadratic equations; Sequences and Series; Trigonometry; Cartesian System of Rectangular Coordinates; Straight lines and Family; Three Dimensional Geometry; Permutations and

Combinations; Binomial Theorem; Vectors; Matrices and Determinants; Boolean Algebra; Functions; Limits and Continuity; Differentiation; Ordinary Differential Equations; Application of Derivatives; Integration as inverse process of differentiation; Definite and indefinite integrals; Methods of Integration; Integration by parts.

Statistics: Measures of dispersion; Mean Deviation for grouped and ungrouped data; Variance and Standard Deviation; and Analysis of Frequency Distribution.

Probability: Random Experiments; Event; Axiomatic Approach to Probability; Conditional Probability and its properties; Multiplication Theorem on Probability; Independent Events; Bayes’ Theorem; Random Variables and its Probability Distributions; Bernoulli Trails and Binomial Distributions.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry

Donald Voet & Judith G Voet

Biochemistry

AL Lehninger

Analytical Biochemistry 

Holme

Biochemistry

Zubay

Principles of Biochemistry 

Lehninger

Cell Biology

Cell and Molecular Biology -Concepts and Experiments

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA

Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology of the Gene

James D Watson, Tania A Baker, Stephen P Bell, Alexander Gann, Michael Levine & Richard Losick

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter

Molecular cloning

Sambrook & Russel

Microbiology

Microbiology

Lansing M Prescott, John P Harley & Donald A Klein

Microbiology

Brock

Biotechnology

Biotechnology

U Satyanarayana

Physiology

Principles of anatomy physiology

Gerard J Tortora & Bryan Derrickson

Botany

A Text Book of Botany

Annie Ragland, V Kumaresan & N Arumugam

Genetics

Principles of Genetics

Gardner, Simmons & Snustad

Immunology

Immunology

Richard A Golds, Thomas J Kindt, Barbara A Osborne & Janis Kuby

General Biology, Ecology and Evolution

Campbell Biology

Lisa A Urry, Michael L Cain, Steven A Wasserman, Peter V Minorsky & Jane B Reece

Developmental Biology

Scott F Gilbert

Fundamentals of vibration & waves

S P Puri (Tata McGraw Hill)

Concepts of Physics

H. C. Verma

Concepts of Modern Physics

A. Beiser

Properties of matter & Acoustics

R. Murugeshan & K. Shivaprasath

Organic Chemistry

OP Agrawal

Physical Chemistry

Lewis

Reaction & Recovery of Chemicals 

SN Sanyal

A guide book to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry 

Peter Sykes

Principles of Mathematical Analysis

Rudin W

Differential Calculus

Gorakh Prasad

An Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Rohatgi, VK & Saleh

Elementary Linear Algebra

H Anton

Calculus by MJ Strauss, GL Bradley

KJ Smith

IIT-JAM: MSc (Biotechnology) Previous Papers (Solved)

R Gupta

Solved Papers & Practice Sets IIT JAM (Joint Admission Test for MSc From IITs) – Biotechnology

Arihant Publications

Biochemical Calculations

Irwin H Segel

Bioinformatics

Mount David W

Essential Cell Biology

Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Alexander D Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter

Molecular Cloning

Sambrook and Russel

Principles of Gene Manipulation

Sandy B Primrose, Richard Twyman, Bob Old

Kuby Immunology

Thomas J Kindt, Barbara A Osborne, Richard Goldsby

Basic Immunology

Abbas and Litchmann

Prescott’s Microbiology

Joanne Willey, Linda Sherwood, Chris Woolverton

Microbiology

Michael Pelczar Jr

Genetics (Benjamin/Cummings Series in the Life Sciences)

Peter J Russell

39.86

35.87 

19.93