GATE 2026 Life Sciences (XL) Syllabus, Important Topics & Chapters with Weightage

GATE 2026 Life Science Syllabus

Candidates preparing for the upcoming GATE entrance exam can check the GATE exam syllabus for life science 2026 on this page. The GATE 2026 life science syllabus pdf will contain the list of topics that aspirants should study during preparation. Candidates are also advised to refer to the GATE life science topic-wise weightage to get an idea of high-weightage topics. Moreover, candidates are advised to avoid missing out on any topic mentioned in the GATE syllabus for life science.

GATE Life Science Syllabus 2026

The syllabus of GATE Life Sciences comprises various topics as mentioned below.

• XL - U Food Technology

• XL - P Chemistry

• XL - Q Biochemistry

• XL - R Botany

• XL - S Microbiology

• XL - T Zoology

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GATE Syllabus for Life Sciences - Chemistry

The GATE Life Science Syllabus 2026 for Chemistry will include topics such as Planck’s quantum theory, ionic and covalent bonding, oxides, osmotic pressure, conductance, rate constants, qualitative treatment of state and path functions, acids and bases, and amino acids and proteins.

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GATE 2026 Life Science Syllabus - Biochemistry

The GATE Life Science Syllabus 2026 for Biochemistry will have topics such as the role of water, organization of life, metabolism and bioenergetics, structure and function of biomolecules, vitamins, and coenzymes, enzyme kinetics including its regulation and inhibitions, metabolism and bioenergetics, biochemical separation techniques, organelles and cell structure, transcription, DNA replication and translation and the immune system.

GATE Life Science Syllabus

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GATE XL Syllabus 2026 - Botany

The GATE Life Science Syllabus 2026 for Botany has topics such as botanical nomenclature, the history of plant taxonomy, anatomy of roots, stems, and leaves, the life cycle of angiosperms, development of male and female gametophytes, metabolism and bioenergetics, plant water relations, cell cycle and division, and principles, methods, and classification of plant diseases.

Section 1: Plant Systematics

Botanical nomenclature, history of plant taxonomy, diversity and classification of plants, APG system of plant classification; phylogenetics and cladistics, molecular taxonomy and DNA barcoding; Centers for plant taxonomy and herbaria in India.

Section 2: Plant Anatomy

Anatomy of root, stem and leaves, floral organs, embryo and young seedlings, Primary and secondary meristems, stellar organization, vascular system and their ontogeny, xylem and phloem structure, secondary growth in plants and wood anatomy, plant cell structure and differences from animal cells.

Section 3: Plant development; cell and tissue morphogenesis

Life cycle of an angiosperm, development of male and female gametophyte; cell fate determination and tissue patterning; spacing mechanisms in trichomes and stomata. Embryogenesis, organization and function of shoot and root apical meristems. Transition to flowering: photoperiodism and vernalization, ABC model of floral organ patterning, pollen germination, double fertilization, seed development; Xylem and phloem cell differentiation, photomorphogenesis; phytochrome, cryptochrome, phototropin. Role of auxin, cytokinin, gibberellins, and brassinosteroids on plant development.

Section 4: Plant physiology and biochemistry

Plant water relations, mechanisms of uptake and transport of water, ions, and solutes from soil to plants, apoplastic and symplastic transport mechanisms. Mechanism of stomatal movements, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis; C3, C4 and CAM cycles, photorespiration, respiration: glycolysis, TCA cycle and electron transport chain. Plant responses and mechanisms of abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, freezing and heat stress, metal toxicity; the role of abscisic acid in abiotic stresses. Structure and function of biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acid), enzyme kinetics. Structure and biosynthesis of major plant secondary metabolites (alkaloids, terpenes, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids). Biosynthesis, mechanism of action and physiological effects of auxin, cytokinin, gibberellic acids, brassinosteroid, ethylene, strigolactone, abscisic acid, salicylic and jasmonic acid. Senescence and programmed cell death.

Section 5: Genetics and genomics

Cell cycle and cell division. Principles of Mendelian inheritance, linkage, recombination, genetic mapping; extrachromosomal inheritance; Introduction to epigenetics; gene silencing- transgene silencing, post-transcriptional gene silencing, miRNA and siRNA; evolution and organization of eukaryotic genome structure, gene expression, gene mutation and repair, chromosomal aberrations (numerical: euploidy and aneuploidy and structural: deletion, duplication, inversion, translocation), transposons. Model organisms for functional genetics and genomics; Introduction to transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics.

Section 6: Plant Breeding, Genetic Modification, Genome Editing

Principles, methods – selection, hybridization, heterosis; male sterility, genetic maps and molecular markers, embryo rescue, haploid and doubled haploids, plant tissue culture: micropropagation, embryo culture and in vitro regeneration, somatic embryogenesis, artificial seed, cryopreservation, somaclonal variation, somatic cell hybridization, marker-assisted selection, gene transfer methods viz. direct and vector-mediated, generation of transgenic plants; Introduction to genome editing: CRISPR/Cas9, Cre-Lox system to generate chimeras; plastid transformation; chemical mutagenesis.

Section 7: Economic and Applied Botany

A general account of economically and medicinally important plants- cereals, pulses, plants yielding fibres, timber, sugar, beverages, oils, rubber, pigments, dyes, gums, drugs and narcotics. Economic importance of algae, fungi, lichen and bacteria. Major Indian cash crops. Effect of industrialization on agricultural botany such as plastic on fibre economy. Genetically modified crops and their regulation eg. Bt cotton, Bt brinjal golden rice etc.

Section 8: Plant Pathology

Nature and classification of plant diseases, diseases of important crops caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses, and their control measures (chemical and biological) mechanism(s) of pathogenesis, resistance: basal, systemic, induced systemic resistance, gene for gene concept. Molecular detection of pathogens; plant-microbe interactions: symbionts and mycorrhiza, pathogens and pests. Signalling pathways in plant defence response; salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in plant-pathogen and plant-herbivore interaction, necrosis; host-parasitic plant interaction (such as Cuscuta).

Section 9: Ecology and Environment

Ecosystems – types, dynamics, degradation, biogeochemical cycles, ecological succession; food webs and energy flow through ecosystem; vegetation types of the world, Indian vegetation types and biogeographical zones, climate and flora endemism; pollution and global climate change, speciation and extinction, biodiversity and conservation strategies, ecological hotspots, afforestation, habitat restoration; plant interactions with other organisms; epiphytes, parasites and endophytes.

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GATE 2026 Life Science Syllabus - Microbiology

Section 1: Historical Perspective

Discovery of microbial world; Landmark discoveries relevant to the field of microbiology; Controversy over spontaneous generation; Role of microorganisms in transformation of organic matter and in the causation of diseases.

Section 2: Methods in Microbiology

Pure culture techniques; Principles of microbial nutrition; Enrichment culture techniques for isolation of microorganisms; antigen and antibody detection methods for microbial diagnosis; Light-, phase contrast-, fluorescence- and electron-microscopy; PCR, real-time PCR for quantitation of microbes; Next generation sequencing technologies in microbiology.

Section 3: Microbial Taxonomy and Diversity

Bacteria, Archaea and their broad classification; Eukaryotic microbes: Yeasts, moulds and protozoa; Viruses and their classification; Molecular approaches to microbial taxonomy and phylogeny.

Section 4: Prokaryotic Cells: Structure and Function

Prokaryotic Cells: cell walls, cell membranes and their biosynthesis, mechanisms of solute transport across membranes, Flagella and Pili, Capsules, Cell inclusions like endospores and gas vesicles; Bacterial locomotion, including positive and negative chemotaxis.

Section 5: Microbial Growth

Definition of growth; Growth curve; Mathematical expression of exponential growth phase; Measurement of growth and growth yields; Synchronous growth; Continuous culture; Effect of environmental factors on growth; Bacterial biofilm and biofouling.

Section 6: Control of Microorganisms

Disinfection and sterilization: principles, methods and assessment of efficacy.

Section 7: Microbial Metabolism

Energetics: redox reactions and electron carriers; Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation; An overview of metabolism; Glycolysis; Pentose-phosphate pathway; Entner-Doudoroff pathway; Glyoxylate pathway; The citric acid cycle; Fermentation; Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Chemolithotrophy; Photosynthesis; Calvin cycle; Biosynthetic pathway for fatty acids synthesis; Common regulatory mechanisms in synthesis of amino acids; Regulation of major metabolic pathways.

Section 8: Microbial Diseases and Host-Pathogen Interaction

Normal microbiota; Classification of infectious diseases; Reservoirs of infection; Nosocomial infection; Opportunistic infections; Emerging infectious diseases; Mechanism of microbial pathogenicity; Nonspecific defence of host; Antigens and antibodies; Humoral and cell-mediated immunity; Vaccines; passive immunization; Immune deficiency; Human diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi.

Section 9: Chemotherapy/Antibiotics

General characteristics of antimicrobial drugs; Antibiotics: Classification molecular mechanism of mode of action and resistance; Antifungal and antiviral drugs.

Section 10: Microbial Genetics

Types of mutation; UV and chemical mutagens; Selection of mutants; Ames test for mutagenesis; Bacterial genetic system: transformation, conjugation, transduction, recombination, plasmids, transposons; DNA repair; Regulation of gene expression: repression and induction; Operon model; Bacterial genome with special reference to E.coli; Phage λ and its life cycle; RNA; mutation in virus genomes, virus recombination and reassortment; Basic concept of microbial genomics.

Section 11: Microbial Ecology

Microbial interactions; Carbon, sulphur and nitrogen cycles; Soil microorganisms associated with vascular plants; Bioremediation; Uncultivable microorganisms; the basic concept of metagenomics and metatranscriptomics.

Life Sciences GATE Syllabus 2026 - Zoology

Section 1: Animal Diversity

Distribution, systematics and classification of animals, phylogenetic relationships (based on classical and molecular phylogenetic tools).

Section 2: Evolution

Origin and history of life on earth, theories of evolution, natural selection, adaptation, speciation.

Section 3: Genetics

Basic Principles of inheritance, the molecular basis of heredity, sex determination and sex-linked characteristics, cytoplasmic inheritance, linkage, recombination and mapping of genes in eukaryotes, population genetics, genetic disorders, roles of model organisms in understanding genetic principles.

Section 4: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates; replication, transcription and translation, Krebs cycle, glycolysis, enzyme catalysis, hormones and their actions, roles of vitamins and minerals.

Section 5: Cell Biology

Basic principles of cellular microscopy, the structure of cells, cytoskeletal organization, cellular organelles and their structure and function, cell cycle, cell division, chromosomes and chromatin structure.

Section 6: Gene expression in Eukaryotes

Eukaryotic genome organization and regulation of gene expression, transposable elements.

Section 7: Animal Anatomy and Physiology

Comparative physiology, the respiratory system, Muscular system, circulatory system, digestive system, the nervous system, the excretory system, the endocrine system, the reproductive system, and the skeletal system.

Section 8: Parasitology and Immunology

Nature of parasite, host-parasite relation, protozoan and helminthic parasites, the immune response, cellular and humoral immune response.

Section 9: Development Biology

Gametogenesis, Embryonic development, cellular differentiation, organogenesis, metamorphosis, Model organisms used in developmental biology, the genetic and molecular basis of development, stem cells.

Section 10: Ecology

The ecosystem, Animal distribution, ecological niche and its contribution to ecological diversity, the food chain, population dynamics, species diversity, zoogeography, biogeochemical cycles, conservation biology, and ecotoxicology.

Section 11: Animal Behaviour

Type of behaviours, courtship, mating and territoriality, instinct, learning and memory, social behaviour across the animal taxa, communication, pheromones, and evolution of behaviour in animals.

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GATE 2026 Life Science Syllabus - Food Technology

Section 1: Food Chemistry and Nutrition

Carbohydrates: structure and functional properties of mono-, oligo-, & poly saccharides including starch, cellulose, pectic substances and dietary fibre, gelatinization and retrogradation of starch. Proteins: classification and structure of proteins in food, biochemical changes in post-mortem and tenderization of muscles. Lipids: classification and structure of lipids, rancidity, polymerization and polymorphism. Pigments: carotenoids, chlorophylls, anthocyanins, tannins and myoglobin. Food flavours: terpenes, esters, aldehydes, ketones and quinones. Enzymes: specificity, simple and inhibition kinetics, coenzymes, enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning. Nutrition: balanced diet, essential amino acids and essential fatty acids, protein efficiency ratio, water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins, the role of minerals in nutrition, co-factors, anti-nutrients, nutraceuticals, nutrient deficiency diseases. Chemical and biochemical changes: changes occur in foods during different processing.

Section 2: Food Microbiology

Characteristics of microorganisms: morphology of bacteria, yeast, mould and actinomycetes, spores and vegetative cells, gram-staining. Microbial growth: growth and death kinetics, serial dilution technique. Food spoilage: spoilage microorganisms in different food products including milk, fish, meat, egg, cereals and their products. Toxins from microbes: pathogens and non-pathogens including Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Shebelle, Escherichia, Bacillus, Clostridium, and Aspergillus genera. Fermented foods and beverages: curd, yoghurt, cheese, pickles, soya sauce, sauerkraut, idly, dose, vinegar, alcoholic beverages and sausage.

Section 3: Food Products Technology

Processing principles: thermal processing, chilling, freezing, dehydration, addition of preservatives and food additives, irradiation, fermentation, hurdle technology, intermediate moisture foods. Food packaging and storage: packaging materials, aseptic packaging, controlled and modified atmosphere storage. Cereal processing and products: milling of rice, wheat, and maize, parboiling of paddy, bread, biscuits, extruded products and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. Oil processing: expelling, solvent extraction, refining and hydrogenation. Fruits and vegetable processing: extraction, clarification, concentration and packaging of fruit juice, jam, jelly, marmalade, squash, candies, tomato sauce, ketchup, and puree, potato chips, pickles. Plantation crops processing and products: tea, coffee, cocoa, spice, extraction of essential oils and oleoresins from spices. Milk and milk products processing: pasteurization and sterilization, cream, butter, ghee, ice- cream, cheese and milk powder. Processing of animal products: drying, canning, and freezing of fish and meat; production of egg powder. Waste utilization: pectin from fruit wastes, uses of by-products from rice milling. Food standards and quality maintenance: FPO, PFA, A-Mark, ISI, HACCP, food plant sanitation and cleaning in place (CIP).

Section 4: Food Engineering

Mass and energy balance: Momentum transfer: Flow rate and pressure drop relationships for Newtonian fluids flowing through a pipe, Reynolds number. Heat transfer: heat transfer by conduction, convection, radiation, heat exchangers. Mass transfer: molecular diffusion and Flick's law, conduction and convective mass transfer, permeability through single and multilayer films. Mechanical operations: size reduction of solids, high-pressure homogenization, filtration,

centrifugation, settling, sieving, mixing & agitation of liquid. Thermal operations: thermal sterilization, evaporation of liquid foods, hot air drying of solids, spray and freeze-drying, freezing and crystallization. Mass transfer operations: psychometric, humidification and dehumidification operations.