Upsc Syllabus Botany Optional

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PAPER - I
1. Microbiology and Plant Pathology:

Structure and reproduction/multiplication of viruses, viroids, bacteria, fungi and mycoplasma; Applications
of microbiology in agriculture, industry, medicine and in control of soil and water pollution; Prion and Prion
hypothesis.
Important crop diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, mycoplasma, fungi and nematodes; Modes of infection
and dissemination; Molecular basis of infection and disease resistance/defence; Physiology of parasitism
and control measures; Fungal toxins; Modelling and disease forecasting; Plant quarantine.
2. Cryptogams:
Algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes, pteridophytes-structure and reproduction from evolutionary viewpoint;
Distribution of Cryptogams in India and their ecological and economic importance.
3. Phanerogams:
Gymnosperms: Concept of Progymnosperms; Classification and distribution of gymnosperms; Salient
features of Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Coniferales and Gnetales, their structure and reproduction; General
account of Cycadofilicales, Bennettitales and Cordaitales; Geological time scale; Type of fossils and their
study techniques.
Angiosperms: Systematics, anatomy, embryology, palynology and phylogeny.
Taxonomic hierarchy; International Code of Botanical Nomenclature; Numerical taxonomy and
chemotaxonomy; Evidence from anatomy, embryology and palynology.
Origin and evolution of angiosperms; Comparative account of various systems of classification of angiosperms;
Study of angiospermic families?Mangnoliaceae, Ranunculaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Apiaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Verbenaceae, Solanaceae,
Rubiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Arecaceae, Liliaceae, Musaceae and Orchidaceae.
Stomata and their types; Glandular and non-glandular trichomes; Unusual secondary growth; Anatomy of
C3 and C4 plants; Xylem and phloem differentiation; Wood anatomy.
Development of male and female gametophytes, pollination, fertilization; Endosperm - its development
and function; Patterns of embryo development; Polyembroyony and apomixes; Applications of palynology;
Experimental embryology including pollen storage and test-tube fertilization.
4. Plant Resource Development:

Domestication and introduction of plants; Origin of cultivated plants; Vavilov’s centres of origin; Plants as
sources for food, fodder, fibre, spices, beverages,edible oils, drugs, narcotics, insecticides, timber, gums,
resins and dyes, latex, cellulose, starch and its products; Perfumery; Importance of Ethnobotany in Indian
context; Energy plantations; Botanical Gardens and Herbaria.
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5. Morphogenesis:
Totipotency, polarity, symmetry and dfferentiation; Cell, tissue, organ and protoplast culture; Somatic
hybrids and Cybrids; Micropropagation; Somaclonal variation and its applications; Pollen haploids, embryo
rescue methods and their applications.
PAPER - II
1. Cell Biology:
Techniques of cell biology; Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells-structural and ultrastructural details; Structure
and function of extracellular matrix (cell wall), membranes-cell adhesion, membrane transport and vesicular
transport; Structure and function of cell organelles (chloroplasts, mitochondria, ER, dictyosomes ribosomes,
endosomes, lysosomes, peroxisomes); Cytoskelaton and microtubules; Nucleus, nucleolus, nuclear pore
complex; Chromatin and nucleosome; Cell signalling and cell receptors; Signal transduction; Mitosis
and meiosis; Molecular basis of cell cycle; Numerical and structural variations in chromosomes and their
significance; Chromatin organization and packaging of genome; Polytene chromosomes; B-chromosomes’
structure, behaviour and significance.
2. Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolution:

Development of genetics; Gene versus allele concepts (Pseudoalleles); Quantitative genetics and multiple
factors; Incomplete dominance, polygenic inheritance, multiple alleles; Linkage and crossing over; Methods
of gene mapping, including molecular maps (idea of mapping function); Sex chromosomes and sex-
linked inheritance, sex determination and molecular basis of sex differentiation; Mutations (biochemical
and molecular basis); Cytoplasmic inheritance and cytoplasmic genes (including genetics of male sterility).
Structure and synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins;Genetic code and regulation of gene expression; Gene
silencing; Multigene families; Organic evolution?evidences, mechanism and theories.
Role of RNA in origin and evolution.
3. Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Biostatistics:

Methods of plant breeding?introduction, selection and hybridization (pedigree, backcross, mass selection,
bulk method); Mutation, polyploidy, male sterility and heterosis breeding; Use of apomixes in plant
breeding; DNA sequencing; Genetic engineering ? methods of transfer of genes; Transgenic crops and
biosafety aspects; Development and use of molecular markers in plant breeding; Tools and techniques -
probe, southern blotting, DNA fingerprinting, PCR and FISH. Standard deviation and coefficient of variation
(CV); Tests of significance (Z-test, t-test and chi-square test); Probability and distributions (normal, binomial
and Poisson); Correlation and regression.
4. Physiology and Biochemistry

Water relations, mineral nutrition and ion transport, mineral deficiencies; Photosynthesis?photochemical
reactions; photophosphorylation and carbon fixation pathways; C3, C4 and CAM pathways; Mechanism of
phloem transport; Respiration (anerobic and aerobic, including fermentation)?electron transport chain and
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oxidative phosphorylation; Photorespiration; Chemiosmotic theory and ATP synthesis; Lipid metabolism;
Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen metabolism; Enzymes, coenzymes; Energy transfer and energy conservation;
Importance of secondary metabolites; Pigments as photoreceptors (plastidial pigments and phytochrome);
Plant movements; Photoperiodism and flowering, vernalization, senescence; Growth substances?their
chemical nature, role and applications in agri-horticulture; Growth indices, growth movements; Stress
physiology (heat, water, salinity, metal); Fruit and seed physiology; Dormancy, storage and germination of
seed; Fruit ripening?its molecular basis and manipulation.
5. Ecology and Plant Geography:

Concept of ecosystem; Ecological factors; Concepts and dynamics of community; Plant succession; Concept
of biosphere; Ecosystems; Conservation; Pollution and its control (including phytoremediation); Plant
indicators; Environment (Protection) Act.
Forest types of India-Ecological and economic importance of forests, afforestation, deforestation and social
forestry; Endangered plants, endemism, IUCN categories, Red Data Books; Biodiversity and its conservation;
Protected Area Network; Convention on Biological Diversity; Farmers? Rights and Intellectual Property
Rights; Concept of Sustainable.Development; Biogeochemical cycles; Global warming and climatic change;
Invasive species; Environmental Impact Assessment; Phytogeographical regions of India
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BOTANY OPTIONAL

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1. Microbiology and Plant Pathology:

4. Plant Resource Development:

2. Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolution:

3. Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Biostatistics:

4. Physiology and Biochemistry

5. Ecology and Plant Geography:

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