First Course Sheet- BSE311
1. Objectives:
Cells are the fundamental units of living organisms. This course aims at providing an introduction to the experimental
methods used to discover the molecular mechanisms by which cells grow, differentiate into specific tissues and
regulate their functions. Greater emphasis will be on the fundamentals of molecular biology and to develop skill sets
for reading and understanding scientific literature and interpreting experimental data
All the topics will be taught from the perspective of experimental methods used to discover the principles. For
examples, instead of asking “in which order general transcription factors are recruited to the promoter?”, you should
ask, “how was the order of recruitment of general transcription factors to the promoter was determined?”
2. Prerequisites:
There is no obligate pre-requisite for this course. However, students are expected to have clear understanding of the
courses taught earlier e.g., LIF101, Biotechnology and Biochemistry. Whereas, BSBE students would have credited
these courses by the fourth semester anyway, students from other departments will be required to quickly pick up
relevant contents of Biotechnology and Biochemistry courses.
3. Course Contents:
Topic No. of
Lectures
Molecular Genetic Techniques and Genomics: Genetic analyses of mutations to identify and study 9
genes; DNA cloning and characterization; Genome wide analyses of gene structure and gene
expression; Inactivating the function of specific genes in eukaryotes; Identifying and locating human
disease genes
Molecular Structure of Genes and Chromosomes: Chromosomal organization genes and noncoding 5
DNA; Mobile DNA; Structural organization of eukaryotic chromosomes; organelle DNAs
Transcriptional Control of Gene Expression: Eukaryotic gene control and RNA polymerase; 9
regulatory sequences in protein coding genes; activators and repressors of transcription; mechanism
of transcription activation and repression.
Post-transcriptional Gene Control: Processing of eukaryotic pre-mRNA; transport across nuclear 7
envelope; cytoplasmic mechanism of post-transcriptional control; processing of rRNA and tRNA,
regulation of protein synthesis.
Cell signalling: Signalling molecules and cell surface receptors; intracellular signal transduction; G 3
protein coupled receptors
Membrane trafficking: Translocation of secretory proteins across the ER membrane; protein 5
modifications, folding and quality control in the ER; export and sorting of proteins.
Eukaryotic cell cycle: Biochemical and genetics studies on cell cycle; mechanisms regulating 4
mitotic events; meiosis - a special type of cell division.
Total lectures 42
Instructor: Dr Robert Sonowal
Contact: Dr Robert Sonowal
(Email: rsonowal@[Link]; office phone:
2372)
Teaching Offline class
details:
Class Monday (8-9am), Tuesday (9-10am),
schedule: Friday (8-9am)
MFCEM Seminar Room
Grading scheme:
Percentage weightage (%)
Quizzes conducted throughout the course 20
Presentations conducted throughout the course 5
Midsem 35
Endsem 40
• Short quizzes will be conducted almost every week.
• ~2-minute chalk and board-based presentations will be conducted almost every week. Randomly picked roll
numbers will be asked to summarize the topics taught in the previous class.
• Student should secure minimum 30% to get a pass grade.
Textbook - Molecular Cell Biology, by Lodish et al (5th edition or recent), W.H. Freeman and Company, New
York
Reference book - Molecular Biology of the Cell, by Alberts et al (4th edition or later), Garland Sciences, New
York
Reference material – Various internet sites (students will be informed) and review articles and original research
articles (rarely) which will be supplied to the students on course website.
