Cell Biology

Paper Code: 
BTE 121
Credits: 
5
Contact Hours: 
75
Objective: 

To enable students to-

  • understand the structural components of a cell.
  • get an insight into the mechanics of cell cycle and programmed cell death.
  • understand intercellular interaction and signal transduction.
  • learn about techniques used in the study of cytology.
10.00
Unit I: 
Ultrastructure of Cells

Cell as a basic unit of living system, Cell diversity: Cell size, Cell as experiment models: E. Coli, Yeast, C. elegans, Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophilla melanogaster, Structure and functions of cell organelles in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

15.00
Unit II: 
Cytoskeleton

Cytoskeleton: Self-assembly and dynamic structure of cytosketetal filaments, actin filament, microtubules, movement of cilia and flagella. Cell –Cell interaction: cell adhesion, tight and gap junctions, plasmodesmata.

18.00
Unit III: 
Cell cycle and apoptosis

Energy Conversion: Photophosphorylation, Oxidative phosphorylation, Evolution of electron transport chain. Cell cycle and apoptosis: Events in cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis, Key regulators of cell cycle, programmed cell death and its control.

15.00
Unit IV: 
Transport across membranes

Membrane transport: Thermodynamics of transportation, passive and active mediated transportation of molecules, Donnan equilibrium, Nernst equation, Na+- K+ ATPase, H+-K+ ATPase, ion gradient driven transportation, mechanism of protein trafficking

17.00
Unit V: 
Signal transduction and Techniques in cell biology

Molecular basics of signal transduction in bacteria, plants and animals, secondary messengers, perception of environmental signals, G- protein and tyrosine kinase coupled receptors. Basic techniques in cell biology: microscopy, cell fractionation method, GISH, FISH, histochemical analysis, microtomy, staining and fixation.

ESSENTIAL READINGS: 

1. Molecular Biology of the Cell (2nd Edition) B. Alberts, D. Bray, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, and J.D. Watson, Garland publishing. Inc., New York, 1994. 2. Molecular Cell biology (2nd Edition) J. Darnell, H. Lodish and D.Baltimore, Scientific American Books, USA, 1994 3. Cell & Molecular Biology, (8th edition), E D P Roberties & E M F Roberties, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005 4. The cell, (5th edition), R C Swanson and P C Webster , Prentice hall of India Pvt. Ltd., 1990

REFERENCES: 

1. Cell and Molecular Biology, (3rd edition), P Scheeler and D E Bianchi, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1987 2. Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments, (4th edition), G Karp, John Wiley & sons, Inc., 2005 3. The cell. A Molecular Approach, (4th edition), G H Cooper and R E Hausman, ASM Press, 2007

Academic Year: 
2016-2017
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