STUDY MATERIAL · GATE BT
GATE Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology previous year questions and notes
Every Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology question from 7 GATE papers (2019–2026), solved step by step and checked against the organising institute’s official answer key — with notes for each topic, a formula sheet and practice questions.
- previous-year questions
- 75previous-year questions
- worked solutions, checked against the key
- 72worked solutions, checked against the key
- GATE papers, 2019–2026
- 7GATE papers, 2019–2026
- topics with notes
- 7topics with notes
TOPICS
Seven topics, in the order they are taught
Cut from the official GATE 2027 syllabus. Each topic has notes, the formulas you need, every previous-year question on it with a checked solution, and practice questions.
- TOPIC 01
Mendelian genetics, gene interaction and linkage mapping
Study notes on Mendelian inheritance, gene interaction and linkage mapping for GATE BT.
10 previous-year questions · 16 marks · 7 practice
- TOPIC 02
Microbial genetics, gene transfer and transposable elements
Bacteria exchange genes by three mechanistically distinct routes of horizontal gene transfer: transformation (uptake of free DNA), conjugation (plasmid-driven transfer through cell contact), and transduction (phage-packaged DNA, generalized or specialized).
2 previous-year questions · 2 marks · 7 practice
- TOPIC 03
Chromosomal variation, genetic disorders, population genetics and evolution
This unit covers genetics at the level of chromosomes and of populations.
11 previous-year questions · 18 marks · 8 practice
- TOPIC 04
Cell structure, cell cycle, protein trafficking and cell death
Study notes for GATE BT "Cell structure, cell cycle, protein trafficking and cell death".
15 previous-year questions · 25 marks · 6 practice
- TOPIC 05
Cell communication and signal transduction
Cell communication and signal transduction cover how cells send and receive signals (endocrine, paracrine, synaptic, autocrine, contact-dependent, gap junctions and plasmodesmata, bacterial quorum sensing).
7 previous-year questions · 9 marks · 6 practice
- TOPIC 06
Genes and chromosomes, mutation and DNA repair
Prokaryotic genes are often grouped in operons and read from polycistronic mRNAs with a Shine–Dalgarno site before each start codon.
9 previous-year questions · 14 marks · 6 practice
- TOPIC 07
Replication, transcription, translation and regulation of gene expression
GATE Biotechnology study notes on DNA replication (prokaryotic and eukaryotic, telomeres), transcription, RNA processing, translation, prokaryotic operons (lac genetics, trp attenuation) and eukaryotic regulation including miRNA, siRNA, RNAi and other non-coding RNAs, with comparative tables, worked numerical examples and 7 original GATE-style practice questions.
21 previous-year questions · 33 marks · 7 practice
WHERE THE QUESTIONS FALL
75 questions, by topic and year
Counts across the BT papers of each year. A count of what was asked, not a forecast of what will be. The topic tags are IAE’s reading of each question, and every question links back to its paper.
| Topic | 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendelian genetics | 2 | 2 | 1 | · | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Microbial genetics | 1 | · | · | · | · | 1 | · | 2 |
| Population & evolution | · | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | · | 1 | 11 |
| Cell biology | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Cell signalling | · | 3 | 1 | 2 | · | · | 1 | 7 |
| Mutation & repair | 1 | · | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Gene expression | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
The 2018 paper is not included: the only copy we could find carries a coaching institute's watermark, so its crops cannot be published. The hosted 2021 file is an image scan with no text layer and no key. BT 2019 is taken from IIT Madras's own copy of the paper and key (via the Internet Archive).
How we check solutions: editorial standards.
Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology formulas by topic
Preparing in Kolkata? See IAE Academy’s GATE BT coaching.
THE OFFICIAL SYLLABUS
What each paper lists under Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology
Verbatim from the GATE 2027 syllabus PDF: BT Section 3, “Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology”, in its three printed parts — Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Biology.
GATE BT
Genetics and Evolutionary Biology: Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extra chromosomal inheritance; Microbial genetics - transformation, transduction and conjugation; Bacterial gene mapping; Horizontal gene transfer and transposable elements; Chromosomal variation; Sex Determination; Genetic disorders; Population genetics; Epigenetics; Selection and inheritance; Adaptive and neutral evolution; Genetic drift; Species and speciation. Cell Biology: Eukaryotic cell structure; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell-cell communication; Cell signalling and signal transduction; Non-cell autonomous cell signalling; Post-translational modifications; Protein trafficking; Cell death and autophagy; Extra-cellular matrix. Molecular Biology: Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; Mutations and mutagenesis; Regulation of gene expression; Nucleic acid - replication, transcription, splicing, translation and their regulatory mechanisms; Non-coding and micro RNA; RNA interference; DNA damage and repair
IF YOU WOULD RATHER TALK IT THROUGH