Exercise 8 Fungi Diversity: Fill & Download for Free

Although we are more sedentary than we were in the 1950’s, that isn’t the only reason people are heavier today. If you want to hear something beyond diet and exercise, keep reading.In the past, it was believed that weight was the result of calories in - calories out = weight.Today we know that understanding was naive and horribly incomplete.Enter 2019’s knowledge of the gut microbiome and its effect on health, digestion, and immune function as well as mental health. Now we have a more complete picture of the answer. But it’s not fully complete yet. There is still a great deal of research that needs to be done.What we do know is that stress, antibiotics, diet, and environment affect the diversity in our gut microbiome.Fact # 1"Studies involving microbiota transplantation from obese to lean mice have shown that the obese phenotype is transmissible and may be promoted by microbiota that have increased capacity to harvest energy from the host diet." Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health, Journal of Translational Medicine, 2017The composition of a person’s gut microbiota can make them harvest more from a meal than someone else does from an identical meal. (Yes, this research should make fat shammers ashamed of their judgmental behavior!)Fact # 2Living in rural environments increases diversity in the gut microbiome. Fewer people live in rural environments today.Fact # 3Antimicrobial cleaning products kill beneficial bacteria. Individuals living in homes where they are regularly used have less diversity in their gut microbiota. Some parents use Clorox Wipes to clean the high chair where their babies eat without rinsing the bleach off afterward despite warnings on the label that tell them to do so.Feces samples from their children show lower diversity in the baby’s gut microbiome and traces of cleaning products. Frequent use is associated with obesity by age 3. Postnatal exposure to household disinfectants, infant gut microbiota and subsequent risk of overweight in children, Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2018Fact # 4Antibiotics are overprescribed and while they save lives, they also kill beneficial gut microbiota.Fact # 5Stressors are higher today for many people who have unhealthy habits of thought and marinate themselves in things like the 24/7 negative news cycle. Time stress is more rampant. Stress affects the health of the gut microbiome which, in turn, affects the physical and mental health of the host (the human)."A growing body of evidence, originating with studies in irritable bowel syndrome, has implicated the microbiota–gut–brain axis in the pathogenesis of stress-related disorders." Gut instincts: microbiota as a key regulator of brain development, ageing and neurodegeneration, Omics: a journal of integrative biology, 2018Additionally, the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America reports clearly show that stress reduces the self-control required to exercise and choose healthy foods.Fact #6The outdoors has different taxa where we can be exposed to a greater diversity of microbiota but most people spend more time indoors where they don’t get the benefit of the diversity available outside.Fact # 7Many people view all bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi as bad and take steps to kill them on their hands and surfaces they come in contact with, thus limiting exposure to diverse microbiota that would improve gut health.Fact # 8Decreases in gut microbiome diversity are associated with the onset of aging-related declines. The Journal of Physiology, 2017Fact # 9Decreased diversity of the microbiome increases the risk of obesity. Nutrietns (2012)Fact # 10Weight gain during pregnancy is associated with an unhealthy gut microbiome. "Gut microbiota composition is related to body weight, weight gain, and metabolic biomarkers during pregnancy, which might be of relevance to the management of the health of women and infants." Gut microbiota composition is associated with body weight, weight gain and biochemical parameters in pregnant women, British Journal of Nutrition, 2010Fact # 11Low gut microbiome diversity is associated with weight increases. "A low diversity of microorganisms is associated with a plethora of diseases including allergy, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases and even neuropsychiatric disorders." Cancer Research Journal, 2017Fact # 12Having a dog in the home increases diversity in the human gut microbiome. Living on a farm is even more beneficial than having a pet in the home. Home Life: Factors Structuring the Bacterial Diversity Found within and between Homes, PLOSone, 2013The above is a small excerpt of the information that will be covered in an in-depth article “Is Your Home Too Clean to be Healthy?” that will be published during the next few weeks.

Suppose the task were to identify in a lake all the different types of fish as well as their relative abundance. Somewhat analogously 16S rRNA (16S ribosomal RNA - Wikipedia) and metagenomic sequencing (Metagenomics - Wikipedia) try to do likewise for microbial communities in various habitats. 16S rRNA is akin to doing it with a bunch of fishing rods, i.e., pool of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction - Wikipedia) Primer (molecular biology) - Wikipedia specific for defined bacterial 16S rRNA genes, while metagenomic sequencing is akin to a dragnet, high throughput sequencing of entire microbial genes, even genomes. Both start with DNA extracted from a sample followed by mapping to reference databases and annotation (see below from 1).In that light, 16S rRNA is more a 'biological fingerprint' (2) for bacterial species while metagenomics analyzes a given biological (human poop, skin swab, etc.) or environmental (soil, aquifer, etc.) sample more thoroughly and comprehensively and thus generates a more accurate snapshot of not just the bacteria (3) but also archaea, eukaryotes, fungi, protists and viruses (2) present in it.Other problems with 16S rRNA analysis includeGreater scope for introducing bias sinceCertain 16S rRNA sequences may be amplified more efficiently compared to others as different bacterial species carry different numbers of 16S rRNA genes (4) while copy numbers aren't even known for many species, especially those found during human microbiome analyses since many of these species are novel, haven't been cultured and may likely be 'non-culturable' using standard bacteriological techniques.Chimeric amplification products can skew results (5) but the microbiome field is plagued with weak adherence to relatively easy technical fixes that could prevent such artifacts from occurring in the first place (6).Can't be used to identify to species level since many bacterial species have identical 16S rRNA genes, for example some Anthrax species (2).Major problem with metagenomics is cost as in still rather prohibitively expensive.16S rRNA Sequencing & Metagenomics Share Many Critical Bias-introducing StepsHowever, debating the relative merits of 16S rRNA versus metagenomics risks missing the forest for the trees since both approaches share many critical bias-introducing steps (see below from 7).These include study design (3), sample collection, processing, storage, DNA extraction and sequencing, all of which can introduce a variety of biases and errors over and above those inherent to the two techniques.Differences in sample collection (8, 9), processing (10), transport, storage (11, 12, 13) and DNA extraction (14, 15) can change microbiome results.Even different sequencing platforms can yield different results from the same samples (16).Not only are reference databases incomplete (17), commonly used computational models vary in sensitivity and precision (18).Both 16S rRNA and metagenomics also share another error common to any rapidly expanding scientific field, namely problematic assumptions that underlie the complex statistical approaches necessary for analysis of the colossal amount of data generated by such techniques. For example, a commonly used approach, Rarefaction (ecology) - Wikipedia, has the potential to dramatically skew false positive and false negative rates (19).In other words, even as the microbiome field explodes and is therefore subject to constant technological innovation, critical quality control measures such as development of standardized protocols haven't kept pace (20, 21). Since different published studies use different methods, results can't be compared across studies either (17, 22).Most microbiome studies consist of small numbers of subjects. Such studies have inherently poor statistical power meaning difficult to be conclusive about a particular hypothesis. After all, when diet (23) and location (24) dramatically change snapshot reads of microbiome composition of a single individual, stands to reason that each microbiome study be considered a stand-alone piece of data and yet it's become standard to wildly extrapolate and exaggerate results from one small-scale study to an entire field or even to human physiology itself (7).Currently many microbiome studies also do an extremely poor job of accounting for confounding factors when comparing microbiome differences between two groups of individuals, regardless of the method used to assess it in the first place.An illustrative example of such errors, one study (25) reported that rugby players (n=40) have more diverse microbiome compared to age-matched controls (n=23, 23). Authors as well as popular press interpreted this apparent difference as proof that 'exercise increases gut microbial diversity in humans' (25). Really? Exercise was the only difference between those two groups? Not diet, not more extensive contact with soil, to mention just two plausible differences between rugby players and age-matched controls (7)?In other words, many microbiome studies continue making the fatal error of conflating correlation with causation.Sample replicates are vital in attesting to the robustness of experimental approaches, especially so for extremely sensitive molecular biological techniques such as 16S rRNA sequencing or metagenomics. Vastly expanded sensitivity greatly increases the burden of separating signal from noise (26). A most crucial quality-control step, replication, i.e., test the same sample multiple times, thus becomes critical in helping to better discriminate signal from noise. Currently, microbiome research tends to woefully neglect sample replicates (see table below from 27).Prosser rightfully nails the critical problem of sample numbers and replicates on its head thus (27),'At the moment, if I measured the height of one Englishmen, one American, one Australian and one African and then used the data to postulate ways in which height was determined by continent I would, correctly, be ridiculed. If I were to take a single faecal sample from each of the same individuals and performed massive, parallel, high throughput, 454-sequencing to generate sequence lists, relative abundances of different phylogenetic groups and pie-charts, and used these data to postulate continent associated differences in intestinal microbial communities, it is likely that the paper would be published in one of the highest profile, general science journals. There are already several precedents for this and, as a community, we should be embarrassed.'Seven years on from the above comment about this predicament, little has changed regarding this status quo even as microbiome research has vastly expanded in scope, entering any and all areas of research on human physiology and disease.Bibliography1. Jonsson, Viktor. Statistical analysis and modelling of gene count data in metagenomics. Diss. Göteborgs universitet, 2017. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/48788/1/gupea_2077_48788_1.pdf2. Carlos, Nossa, Yi-Wei Tang, and Zhiheng Pei. "Pearls and pitfalls of genomics-based microbiome analysis." Emerging Microbes and Infections 1 (2012): e45. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlos_Nossa2/publication/235614686_Pearls_and_pitfalls_of_genomics-based_microbiome_analysis/links/0912f511e6faff3e85000000.pdf3. Meisel, Jacquelyn S., et al. "Skin microbiome surveys are strongly influenced by experimental design." Journal of Investigative Dermatology 136.5 (2016): 947-956. https://www.med.upenn.edu/gricelab/assets/user-content/documents/Papers/2016/Skin%20Microbiome%20Surveys%20Are%20Strongly%20Influenced%20by%20Experimental%20Design.pdf4. Pei, Anna Y., et al. "Diversity of 16S rRNA genes within individual prokaryotic genomes." Applied and environmental microbiology 76.12 (2010): 3886-3897. Diversity of 16S rRNA Genes within Individual Prokaryotic Genomes5. Boers, Stefan A., John P. Hays, and Ruud Jansen. "Micelle PCR reduces chimera formation in 16S rRNA profiling of complex microbial DNA mixtures." Scientific reports 5 (2015). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4570986/pdf/srep14181.pdf6. Gohl, Daryl M., et al. "Systematic improvement of amplicon marker gene methods for increased accuracy in microbiome studies." Nature Biotechnology 34.9 (2016): 942-949. http://metagenome.cs.umn.edu/pubs/2016_Gohl_Nature_Biotech.pdf7. Bik, Elisabeth M. "Focus: Microbiome: The Hoops, Hopes, and Hypes of Human Microbiome Research." The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 89.3 (2016): 363. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5045145/pdf/yjbm_89_3_363.pdf8. Dominianni, Christine, et al. "Comparison of methods for fecal microbiome biospecimen collection." BMC microbiology 14.1 (2014): 103.9. Sinha, Rashmi, et al. "Collecting fecal samples for microbiome analyses in epidemiology studies." Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers 25.2 (2016): 407-416. http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/25/2/407.full-text.pdf10. Hsieh, Yu-Hsin, et al. "Impact of Different Fecal Processing Methods on Assessments of Bacterial Diversity in the Human Intestine." Frontiers in Microbiology 7 (2016). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5071325/pdf/fmicb-07-01643.pdf11. Choo, Jocelyn M., Lex EX Leong, and Geraint B. Rogers. "Sample storage conditions significantly influence faecal microbiome profiles." Scientific reports 5 (2015): 16350. Sample storage conditions significantly influence faecal microbiome profiles12. Klymiuk, Ingeborg, et al. "16S based microbiome analysis from healthy subjects’ skin swabs stored for different storage periods reveal phylum to genus level changes." Frontiers in Microbiology 7 (2016). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5167739/pdf/fmicb-07-02012.pdf13. Song, Se Jin, et al. "Preservation methods differ in fecal microbiome stability, affecting suitability for field studies." mSystems 1.3 (2016): e00021-16. http://msystems.asm.org/content/msys/1/3/e00021-16.full.pdf14. Kennedy, Nicholas A., et al. "The impact of different DNA extraction kits and laboratories upon the assessment of human gut microbiota composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing." PloS one 9.2 (2014): e88982. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088982&type=printable15. Wesolowska-Andersen, Agata, et al. "Choice of bacterial DNA extraction method from fecal material influences community structure as evaluated by metagenomic analysis." Microbiome 2.1 (2014): 19. Choice of bacterial DNA extraction method from fecal material influences community structure as evaluated by metagenomic analysis16. Hahn, Andrea, et al. "Different next generation sequencing platforms produce different microbial profiles and diversity in cystic fibrosis sputum." Journal of Microbiological Methods 130 (2016): 95-99.17. Amato, Katherine R. "An introduction to microbiome analysis for human biology applications." American Journal of Human Biology (2016). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.22931/epdf18. Weiss, Sophie, et al. "Correlation detection strategies in microbial data sets vary widely in sensitivity and precision." The ISME journal (2016). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Li_Xia6/publication/295844113_Correlation_detection_strategies_in_microbial_data_sets_vary_widely_in_sensitivity_and_precision/links/57394ecb08ae298602e2c151.pdf19. McMurdie, Paul J., and Susan Holmes. "Waste not, want not: why rarefying microbiome data is inadmissible." PLoS Comput Biol 10.4 (2014): e1003531. http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003531&type=printable20. Salter, Susannah J., et al. "Reagent and laboratory contamination can critically impact sequence-based microbiome analyses." BMC biology 12.1 (2014): 87. Reagent and laboratory contamination can critically impact sequence-based microbiome analyses21. Clavel, Thomas, Ilias Lagkouvardos, and Andreas Hiergeist. "Microbiome sequencing: challenges and opportunities for molecular medicine." Expert review of molecular diagnostics 16.7 (2016): 795-805.22. Lozupone, Catherine A., et al. "Meta-analyses of studies of the human microbiota." Genome research 23.10 (2013): 1704-1714. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catherine_Lozupone/publication/249967141_Meta-analyses_of_studies_of_the_human_microbiota/links/5579ac2808aeb6d8c02055c2.pdf23. David, Lawrence A., et al. "Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome." Nature 505.7484 (2014): 559-563. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Gootenberg/publication/259321038_Diet_rapidly_and_reproducibly_alters_the_gut_microbiome/links/53da55150cf2e38c63367bfa/Diet-rapidly-and-reproducibly-alters-the-gut-microbiome.pdf24. Tirumalai Kamala's answer to What effect can a change of location have on a person's microbiome?25. Clarke, Siobhan F., et al. "Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity." Gut (2014): gutjnl-2013. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Kerins2/publication/263899981_Exercise_and_associated_dietary_extremes_impact_on_gut_microbial_diversity/links/563d332308ae34e98c4ad8fa.pdf26. Knight, Rob, et al. "Unlocking the potential of metagenomics through replicated experimental design." Nature biotechnology 30.6 (2012): 513-520. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.716.671&rep=rep1&type=pdf27. Prosser, James I. "Replicate or lie." Environmental microbiology 12.7 (2010): 1806-1810. https://www.io-warnemuende.de/tl_files/scripte/statistikseminar/Prosser-2010-Replicate-or-lie.pdfThanks for the R2A, Jai Padmakumar.

I could not understand if you are looking for syllabus of M.Sc in Environmental Course for your coursework or for preparation of entrance exam. If you are looking for coursework in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; here you go.The M. Sc. programme is spread over four semesters. It carries 64 credits and comprises of four different components viz: I) Teaching II) Lab Work III) Field Work and IV) Dissertation.Distribution of credits for M. Sc. Programme is:Total Credits for M. Sc. Degree Programme = 64 credits I) Teaching = 50 creditsII) Lab work, Field work and Dissertation = 14 creditsDistribution of credits for teaching (Total 50 credits)i) Core courses = 26 credits ii) Optional courses = 24 creditsDistribution of credits for Lab work, Field work and Dissertation (Total 14 credits)a) Lab work = 6 credits (Lab Work I =3 credits; Lab Work II =3 credits)b) Field work = 3 creditsc) Dissertation = 5 creditsI) Teaching (50 credits)Teaching is a major component of the programme. It shares 50 credits out of total 64. The remaining three components i.e. Lab work, field work and dissertation share remaining 14 creditsVarious courses offered under M. Sc. programme are categorized as:A) Core courses B) Non Credit courses and C) Optional courses.Altogether there are 46 courses: 13 as core, 2 non credit courses and 31 optional courses. All core courses are offered in I and II semesters and all optional courses are offered in III and IV semester of the M. Sc programme.All Core Courses are of 2 credits each and compulsory for all the students. Non credit courses do not carry any credits, however, as per the JNU ordinance, completion of such courses by every student is a mandatory requirement for the award of the degree. Optional courses are of 3 credits each and cover all specialized courses across different sub disciplines of environmental sciences namely; Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Geology, Chemistry and Biology. There is a running list of 31 optional courses, out of which students will have to choose any 8 optional courses (four in each semester) to obtain 24 credits.II) Lab work, Field work and Dissertation (14 credits)a) Lab work (6 credits)The lab work component is spread over first two semesters and is called as Lab work I and Lab work II to be completed in I and II semesters respectively. Under Lab Work I and II, sets of experiments specially designed for M. Sc. students by faculty members of the school are carried out in M. Sc. lab or in the lab of the concerned faculty member during the period of five working days in the afternoon.b) Field work (3 credits)To strengthen the field work component and to have a wider exposure of the field conditions, students will undergo extensive field work which will help them in developing the understanding of different aspects of environmental sciences. Field work is completed in second semester. Each student will submit his/her field work report for evaluation.c) Dissertation (5 credits)Each student will work for M. Sc. Project under the supervision of formally assigned supervisor in the school. Assigning of supervisor will be based on academic interest shown by the student in research specialization of the concerned faculty member followed by the consent given by the faculty member to supervise the project work of that particular student. Student shall complete the process of academic interaction to obtain teachers consent to supervise his/her project work by the end of second semester. The work on research project will start in 3rd semester under the supervision of concerned faculty member in his /her lab and will be completed by 4th semester with writing and submission of dissertation. Dissertation will be evaluated by a 3 member expert committee. Students will have to present their work and defend it in an open viva- voce.LIST OF COURSESA) Core Courses (Compulsory for all)(Total courses 13, Total credits: 13 x 2 =26)Remedial Mathematics ES-101ORRemedial Biology ES-102Environmental Chemistry ES-103Earth processes ES-104Ecology ES-105Statistics ES-106Environmental Pollution ES-107Natural hazards and disaster management ES-108Environmental Impact Assessment ES-109Energy and Environment ES-110Remote sensing and Geoinformatics ES-111Environmental Biochemistry and Toxicology ES-112Marine environment ES 113Soil Science ES-114B) Non- Credit Courses (Compulsory for all)Current Environmental Issues ES-11516. Scientific Writings and Ethics ES-116C) Optional Courses – (Total courses- 31 of 3 credits each; Students will have tochoose any 8 courses to obtain total 24 credits)1. Environmental Modeling ES-2012. Climatology ES-2023. Meteorology ES-2034. Noise Pollution ES-2045. Environmental Physics ES-2056. Environmental instrumentation and techniques ES-2067. Geochemistry ES-2078. Groundwater Hydrology ES-2089. Oceanography ES-20910. Natural resource Management ES-21011. Glaciology ES-21112. Biogeochemistry ES-21213. Environmental Geology ES-21314. Water Resources ES-21415. Air Pollution Chemistry ES-21516. Water Pollution Chemistry ES-21617. Soil Pollution Chemistry ES-21718. Solid and Hazardous Wastes Management ES-21819. Metrology ES-21920. Pollution Biology ES-22021. Biodiversity and conservation ES-22122. Forest ecology ES-22223. Microbial Ecology ES-22324. Ecosystem Dynamics ES-22425. Environmental Biophysics ES-22526. Ecology and sustainable development ES-22627. Environmental Xenobiotics and human health ES-22728. Fundamentals of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology ES-22829. Applied biotechnology and Bioremediation ES-22930. Eco-toxicology ES-23031. Environmental and Occupational health ES-231D) Lab Work1. Lab work I (3 credits) ES-2322. Lab work II (3 credits) ES-233E) Field Work (3 credits) ES-234F) Project Work (5 credits) ES-235-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------COURSE CONTENTA) Core CoursesRemedial Mathematics ES-101 (for Non- Mathematics students)Functions- polynomial, logarithmic, exponential, absolute value, trigonometric. Limits, Indeterminate forms, Continuity. Derivability. Differentiation of simple mathematical functions- product rule, quotient rule and chain rule. Integration- by parts, substitution and by partial fractions. Linear differential equations and their solution. Introduction to Matrices and Determinants. Introduction to Vectors- addition, subtraction, multiplication of vectors. Equation of Straight Line and Solving Linear System of Equations.OR2. Remedial Biology ES-102 (for Non- Biology students)History and scope of ecology, Evolution of biosphere, Diversity of life forms. Biological communities, species interaction, Communities properties, succession. Plant diversity and nomenclature with major classes of plants; Phytogeographical regions; Rare and threatened plants and exploration of plant wealth. Animal diversity and categories of animals; Rare and threatened species of mammals, aves, reptiles, pisces etc.; Exploration and conservation of faunal wealth. Microbial diversity, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes; Microbial diversity in man-made ecosystems and natural ecosystems. Importance of flora and fauna in nutrient cycling, its effect, degradation and metabolism.3. Environmental chemistry ES-103Fundamental Chemistry: Elements, Chemical bonding, chemical reactions and equations, Organic functional groups, classes of organic compounds. Free radical reactions, catalytic processes.Elemental cycles (C, N, S, O) and their environmental significance.Fossil fuels: their types, properties, combustion and environmental implications.Atmospheric constituents, Green house gases and climatic changes. Chlorofluorocarbons and their substitutes. Photochemical smog. Water quality and wastewater treatment. Role of soaps, detergents and phosphorus fertilizers in eutrophication. Persistent organic pollutants: pesticides usage, toxicity and their environmental degradation. Earth crust and weathering mechanism; Soil formation and chemical characteristics. Chemical classes of Hazardous waste, their effects on the environment. Chemical treatment of hazardous wastes.4. Earth Processes ES-104Evolution of various branches of Geology. Origin of the earth. Primary differentiation and formation of core, mantle, crust, atmosphere and hydrosphere. Magma generation and formation of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Concept of Minerals and Rocks. Weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition of earth’s materials by running water, wind and glaciers. Formation of land forms and sedimentary rocks. Plate tectonics- sea floor spreading, mountain building, evolution of continents and structural deformation. Thermal, magnetic and gravitational fields of the earth. Concepts of engineering and urban geology.5. Ecology ES-105History and scope of ecology, autecoloty, synecology, population, community, biome, tolerance range and limiting factors. Distinguishing characters of forests grasslands, arid lands and wetlands; community organization- concept of habitat, functional role and niche, key stone species, dominant species, ecotone, edge effect. Analytical characters, synthetic characters like forms, species diversity and measurement of diversity. Population dynamics, models for single and interacting population, stable points, stable cycles, chaos competition, prey predation, etc. Ecological succession, primary and secondary processes in successions, models of successions, climax community and types of climax. Vegetation of India. Fundamentals of Microbial ecology. Microbial metabolism and microbial interaction. Biochemistry of biological nitrogen fixation and other microbial Pathways in terms of enzymology.6. Statistics ES-106Measures of central tendency. Measures of dispersion. Measures of skewness and kurtosis. Probability- definition, addition and multiplication laws,concept of random variable. Probability distributions- binomial, poisson and normal. Sampling theory- hypothesis testing and interval estimation for large samples. Chi-square test, t-test and F-test of significance. Correlation and regression. analysis. One way analysis of variance.7. Environmental Pollution ES-107Linkage between energy, environment and development. Human population issues. Definition of pollution. Different types of pollution- Air, Water and soil and their local, regional and global aspects. Air: Sources of air pollutants, their behavior in the atmosphere. Effects of air pollutants on humans, animals, plants and properties. Control approaches. Water: Sources, effects, water pollution treatment. Soil: Sources and nature of soil pollution and its harmful effects. Solid waste: generation, collection, environmental effects and safe disposal practices. Environmental problems associated with noise pollution, oil pollution and radioactive pollution.8. Natural hazards and disaster management ES-108Introduction to Hazards- Hazard classification-types of hazards ;Natural Hazards: causes, (continental drift, plate tectonics, sea floor spreading, isostacy, etc.,) distribution pattern, consequences and mitigation: Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcanoes, Cyclone, Flood, Drought, Landslide, cold and heat hazards, forest fire, etc.,- causes, types, distribution adverse effects, etc.,- Disaster introduction- disaster Management Capability-Vulnerability- risk- preparedness and mitigation- Disaster management cycle- community planning education and Engineered structure /structural strengthening techniques- Hazard zonation and mapping- Risk Reduction Measures.9. Environmental Impact Assessment ES-109Linkage between development and environment; global commons: carrying capacity: origin and development of EIA: relationship of EIA to sustainable development: EIA in project planning and implementation: EIA process: evaluation of proposed actions, scoping and base line study, identification and prediction of impacts, mitigation measures. Comparison of alternatives, review and decision making, public participation and compensatory actions: green belts: National Environmental Policies and guidelines in India. Conditions and approach for EIS review. Case studies: river valley projects: thermal power plants: mining projects: oil refineries and petrochemicals.10. Energy and Environment ES-110Energy resources and their exploitation, Sun as source of energy- nature of its radiation, Conventional energy sources: coal, oil, biomass and nature gas, non-conventional energy sources: hydroelectric power, tidal, wind, geothermal energy, solar collectors, photovoltaics, solar ponds, nuclear-fission and fusion, magneto-hydrodynamic power (MHD), Energy use pattern in different parts of the world and its impact on the environment. CO2 emission in atmosphere. Mechanism of radiation action on living systems- Stochastic and Non-stochastic effects; delayed effects, radioactivity from nuclear reactors, fuel processing and radioactive waste, hazards related to power plants, terrestrial and non terrestrial radiation, dose from environment and nuclear radiations, ultraviolet radiations, pathways analysis and dose assessment, radiologic age dating, radioactivity risk assessment, criterion for safe exposure.11. Remote sensing and Geo- informatics ES-111Introduction to Remote sensing & GIS. Principles of remote sensing & GIS. Spectra of Environmental Components. Terrestrial and Extra terrestrial satellites in Remote sensing and GIS. Remote sensing & GIS applications on Ocean, Atmosphere, Land, Geology, Water Resources (Ground water and Surface water). Cryosphere, Disaster, Defence studies. Use of softwares in Remote sensing and GIS to solve Environmental problems including Groundwater Exploration, Rainwater Harvesting, Biomass analysis and its relationship with Georesource evaluation. Use of Remote sensing and GIS in development of Early warning system to monitor Agriculture. Identification of Genetically modified crops in correlation with water quality and soil moisture by using Remote sensing & GIS. Applications of Remote sensing and GIS in early warning of Tsunami, Earthquake, Snowfall, Global warming, Forest fire, Landslide, Landsubsidance. Use of LANDSAT, SPOT, IRS ERS, RADARSAT and Extra terrestrial satellite data by using ERDAS, ARCGIS, ERMAPPER, IDRISI ENVI and S+ software for solving the Environmental problems. Sun-earth cosmic connection to understand environment of the Earth.12. Environmental Biochemistry and Toxicology ES-112Environmental physiology with considerations of intermediary metabolism- approaches for studying energy metabolism and body temperature changes; Thermo regulation and adaptation. Oxygen uptake from the environment, respiration and metabolism. Electron transport system and oxidative phosphorylation. Photosynthesis: C1, C3, C4 pathways and their regulation. Photorespiration. Biochemistry of altered membrane permeability, free radical formation, lipid peroxidation, lysosomal degradation, superoxide dismutase. Environmental pollutants and their effects on living system. Biochemical approaches to the detoxification of xenobiotics through cellular metabolism.13. Marine Environment ES-113Introduction-Classification- open ocean- shallow marine and deep sea environment- marine resources- marine ecology- marine organisms-productivity- coastal environment-coastal water movement- beaches- coastal dunes- barrier islands- cliffed coast- deltas-coast line- estuaries-mangroves- lagoons- salt marshes- coral reefs- classification of marine sediments- clay minerals- biogenic silica- evaporites- nutrient in oceans- carbon and global climate change- marine pollution- law of the sea.14. Soil Science ES-114Soil forming rocks and minerals- Classification- Weathering of rocks and minerals- Processes of weathering and factors affecting them. Soil formation- Factors of soil formation- Soil forming processes- Profile development- Definition of soil- Soil composition. Soil physical properties- Soil separates and particle size distribution- Soil texture and structure- Bulk density, particle density, pore space, soil air, soil temperature, soil water, soil consistence - Significance of physical properties to plant growth. Soil chemical properties- Soil colloids- Inorganic colloids- Clay minerals- amorphous- Ion exchange reactions- Organic colloids- Soil organic matter- Decomposition- Humus formation- Significance on soil fertility, Soil reaction- Biological properties of soil- nutrient availability.B) Non Credit Courses (Compulsory for all )1. Current Environmental Issues ES-115Contemporary and emerging environmental issues of local, regional and global significance. Broadly the topics will be pertaining to: i) Linkage between population, development and environment ii) climate change ii) stratospheric Ozone depletion iii) water resources iv) environmental toxicants and human health v) biodiversity conservation and vi) environmental episodic events, etc.2. Scientific Writings and Ethics ES-116Overview of Moral and Ethical questions in Scientific writing. Overall outline and structure of the article/manuscript. Description, value, and development of points/outlines before writing. Screening of Material for inclusion within the structure of the manuscript.Importance of Authors and their sequence, importance of clear title, abstract or summary. Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Numbers and statistics, Tables and Figures, Discussion. Writing Style: Active or passive, Punctuation, use of commas, apostrophe, semicolon and colon. Avoiding duplication and repetition. Importance of revisions and references.Plagiarism, paraphrasing and copy write violation. Consequences of plagiarism. Why not to fudge, tinker, fabricate or falsify data. Examples.C) Optional Courses1. Environmental Modeling ES - 201Role of Modeling in Environmental Science. Model Classification- Deterministic Models, Stochastic Models, Dynamic Models, Steady State Models. General Steps Involved in Modeling, Mass Balancing, Energy Balancing, Microbial Growth Kinetics- Exponential Growth Model, Logistic Growth Model, Monod Equation, Two Species Population Growth Model of Competition. Lotka-Volterra Prey-Predator Model, Oxygen Sag Model, Gaussian Plume Model.2. Climatology ES - 202Elements of climate, climate controls, Earth's radiation balance, latitudinal and seasonal variation of insolation, temperature, pressure, wind belts, humidity, cloud formation and precipitation, water balance, spatial and temporal patterns of climate parameters, Air masses and fronts, SW and NE monsoon, jet stream, tropical and extratropical cyclone, ENSO, QBO. Classification of climate- Koppen's and Thornthwaite' scheme. Climate change3. Meteorology ES - 203Meteorology fundamentals- Thermal structure of the atmosphere and its composition, Pressure, temperature, wind, humidity, moisture variables, virtual temperature, radiation, radiation from sun, solar constant, surface and planetary albedo, emission and absorption of terrestrial radiation, radiation windows, greenhouse effect, net radiation budget, atmospheric stability diagrams, turbulence, diffusion, dry and moist air parcel, thermodynamic diagrams, T-phigram and mixing height, thermodynamics of dry and moist air, specific gas constant, adiabatic and isoentropic processes, entropy and enthalpy, adiabatic processes of moist air4. Noise Pollution ES - 204Basic properties of sound waves, sound propagation, Definition of Noise, Health Effects of Noise, Concept of sound pressure level (SPL), decibel scale, addition of decibels, Frequency Response of Human Ear, Equal Loudness Contours, Weighting Networks, Octave Bands, Measurement and analysis of sound. Percentile Indices of Noise, Equivalent sound pressure level (Leq), Noise pollution level (NPL), Sound exposure level (SEL), Traffic noise index (TNI), Day-Night level (DNL), noise criteria curves; Noise sources; Industrial Noise and Traffic Noise, Noise control and abatement measures; absorbing materials, barrier materials and damping materials. Acoustic silencers and mufflers.5. Environmental Physics ES - 205Concept and scope of environmental Physics with respect to human environment; built environment; urban environment; global environment. Laws of thermodynamics, irreversible thermodynamics and entropy. Wind chill, Hypothermia. Heat balance (steady and transient), Electromagnetic Radiation, Thermal regulation in buildings- Thermal insulation, Thermal conduction effects, Convection effects, Radiation effects, U-values, Energy use and efficiency in buildings. Energy losses, calculation of energy losses, energy gains.Air regulation in buildings, heat pumps, condensation. Buildings of the future. Nano materials: their properties and influence on human health, environment, communication sector and energy. Method of preparation and Applications of nano materials.6.Environmental Instrumentation and Techniques ES - 206Physics of Dielectrophoresis and its environmental applications, Basics of NMR instrumentations, significance of relaxation time, Raman effect and experimental measurement, Raman Spectroscopy, LASER based techniques, LIDAR based methods and techniques, SODAR Radiofrequency measurement and techniques.7. Geochemistry ES - 207Atomic properties of elements, the periodic, table and geochemical classification of elements; abundance of elements in the bulk earth, crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere; introduction to mineral structures and compositions; thermodynamic classification of elements into essential, structural, major and trace elements and their partitioning during mineral formation; chemical reactions involving proton and electron transfers, mineral stability diagrams and controls on the chemistry of natural waters; geochemical cycling-concepts with an example; radioactivity, decay of parent and growth of daughter nuclides and methods of radiometric dating; stable isotopes, their fractionation and application to geothermometry and paleoclimates. Interpretation of XRD and XRF data for Environmental components. Geochemical sample preparation. X-Ray Fluorescence. X-Ray Diffraction. Ion Chromatography, AAS and its interpretation.8. Groundwater Hydrology ES - 208Definition and concept of hydrology and hydrogeology. Distribution of water in the earth’s crust. Hydrological cycle. Genetic types of groundwater and residence time of groundwater, Geological control of groundwater, Vertical distribution of groundwater, Types of aquifers, springs and their classification, Classification of rocks with reference to their water bearing properties. Mode of occurrence of groundwater in different geological terrains of India. Darcy’s law and its validity, Determination of hydraulic conductivity, groundwater tracers. Environmental factors on Groundwater level fluctuations and Land subsidence due to changes in subsurface moisture. Effects of excessive use of groundwater resources. Sources of salinity, Chemical analysis of groundwater, Quality criteria for different uses, Groundwater quality in different provinces of India, pollution of groundwater resources. Ghyben-Herzberg relationship between fresh-saline water. Groundwater exploration. Construction and design of different types of wells. Well completion and development. Groundwater development and management: Groundwater development in urban areas and rainwater harvesting, artificial recharge methods. Management of groundwater and groundwater legislation.9.Oceanography ES - 209Introduction- historical, current and future- Earths structure- Physiography of oceans- origin and evolution of ocean basins (Continental and oceanic basins)- Continental drift, sea floor spreading, plate tectonics- shelf and deep sea sedimentation- physical, chemical and biological aspects of sea water- Ocean current (circulation)- Waves properties and motion- tidal currents and characteristics- air-water interface/ exchange, gas solubility and circulation models.10. Natural resource Management ES - 210Definition- land, water, soil, plants and animals: quality of life: renewable and non-renewable resources: Mineral occurrences, prospects: Mineral resources: Mineral reserves, ore minerals, coal, petroleum, oil and natural gas: water- hydropower, including tidal power; ocean surface waves used for wave power, wind- wind power, geothermal heat- geothermal power and radiant energy- solar power: sustainable development, Urban planning Environmental management, Understanding the resource ecology and life-supporting capacity of resources-Economic models: Green building concept- green technology concept.11. Glaciology ES - 211Glacier systems- Structure and morphology of glaciers- Glacial erosion; Landscape evolution under glaciers, glacial landforms- Mass balance- Glacier dynamics, Englacial and subglacial process and fluctuations- Glacier hydrology- Snow and melt water chemistry of- Approaches to Glaciology- Glacier modeling- Glacier and climate change impact- Glaciers- Glacier and water resources- Recent advances in Glaciology- Spatial Data Acquisition Glacier Hazards- Glaciers as tool for palaeo climate studies.12. Biogeochemistry ES - 212Introduction- Biogeochemical provinces- Atmosphere- Lithosphere: weathering process, soil biogeochemistry- Terrestrial systems: photosynthesis respiration- Wetlands: vegetation adaptations- Freshwater and Marine Biogeochemistry: Lakes, ponds, rivers, mangroves, salt marsh and estuaries- Oceans: productivity and limiting nutrient role, carbon chemistry- Global biogeochemical cycles: Nutrient cycles-Advances in biogeochemistry- Sediment biogeochemistry, stable Isotopes in Biogeochemistry and their application to various environmental problems. Nutrient dynamic in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and Lithosphere. Nutrient budgeting and modeling13. Environmental Geology ES - 213Interior of the earth- minerals and rocks- earth processes- plate tectonics- sea floor spreading, mountain building, rock deformation- evolution of continents and earth quakes, volcanoes, landslides, subsidence, rivers and floods and coastal process- interactions between humans and the geological processes, Environmental Hazards-Pollution of the Environment- Waste Disposal, Natural Resources, and Energy Sources and their exploitation. Past, present and future environmental issues and their affect on the earth and our society.14. Water Resources ES - 214Hydrological cycle- Hydrometeorology and climate- hydrometric networks and catchment morphology- precipitation- evaporation and evapotranspiration- soil moisture-river flow-River, Lakes and Ground water- Occurrence of surface water and groundwater. Movement of water on the surface and below the surface. Springs and Hydrothermal phenomena. Ungauged river basin flow- River bank infiltration and recharge-precipitation analysis- evaporation calculation-river flow analysis- Time variation of stream flow levels- rainfall- runoff relationships- Ecohydrology- urban hydrology- Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), Urbanization effect on Water resources. Earthquake, Land subsidence and Water resources. Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of Water resources and water quality data processing and interpretation. Sea water intrusion in aquifer system-structural geological approach. Influence of Sun-Earth cosmic connection on Water resources.15. Air Pollution Chemistry ES - 215Chemical composition of atmosphere, Sources of air pollution. Types of air pollutants, organic and inorganic pollutants, their behavior and fate on local, regional and global scale, monitoring of criteria and non-criteria pollutants. Effects of air pollutants on human health, plants, animals and materials. Pollutants and health effects. Air pollution meteorology: Mixing heights, Wind roses, Inversion conditions, Stability of the atmosphere. Long range transport, plume behavior, Air pollution dispersion. Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions of air pollutants. Photochemistry of troposphere, Inorganic reaction in the atmosphere. Reactions involving organic pollutants, Gas to particle conversion. Ozone depletion, Acid rain, Greenhouse effect, Formation of photochemical smog, CFC, their nomenclature, sources and effect, Atmospheric Brown Cloud. Air pollution control technologies: Concept of clean environment, Green technologies, Carbon sequestration, Chemical methods, Electrostatic precipitators.16. Water Pollution Chemistry ES - 216Physicochemical properties of water, Water use- classifications and water quality standard. Basic principles of contaminant behavior in the environment. Hydrologic cycle. Types and sources of water pollution, Major Water Quality (physicochemical and bacteriological) Parameters and their Applications, Basics of water sampling. Water quality objectives and the major chemical, physical and biological processes necessary for designing and managing modern drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, Principles of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, chemical precipitation, porous media filtration, disinfection, ion exchange, adsorption, membrane Processes, advanced oxidation processes, air-stripping and other advanced treatment processes, Major contaminant groups and natural pathways for their removal from water.17. Soil Pollution Chemistry ES - 217Physical Chemistry of Soil: Soil Solution Phase, The Soil/Solution Interface, Surface exchange reactions, Soil acidity, Electrochemistry and the Soil, chemistry of waterlogged soil. Soil Pollution: Inorganic and Organic-Definition of pollution and contamination, sources of soil pollution, Effects of chemical residues on soil, (pesticides, fertilizers, heavy metals etc., Soil salinity and alkalinity, Soil pollution from nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, micronutrients or trace elements and radionuclide, land degradation, soil erosion. Soil pollution and climate change: Greenhouse gases production, emission, mitigation, carbon sequestration, soil quality.18. Solid and Hazardous Waste Management ES - 218Solid wastes: Definition, types, sources, characteristics, and impact on environmental health. Waste generation rates. Concepts of waste reduction, recycling and reuse. Collection, segregation and transport of solid wastes Handling and segregation of wastes at source. Collection and storage of municipal solid wastes. Solid waste processing technologies. Mechanical and thermal volume reduction. Biological and chemical techniques for energy and other resource recovery. Composting, Vermicomposting, Incineration of solid wastes. Disposal in landfills: site selection, design, and operation of sanitary landfills; secure landfills and landfill bioreactors; leachate and landfill gas management; landfill closure and post-closure environmental monitoring; landfill remediation.Hazardous wastes: Definition, sources and characteristics: Hazardous waste categorization, generation, collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Legislation on management and handling of municipal solid wastes and hazardous wastes19. Metrology ES - 219Fundamentals of metrology, Chemical metrology, Defining uncertainty of measurements, traceability of standards, validation of method, calibration of method, accuracy and precision of results, selectivity, sensitivity, detection limit, limit of determination, specificity, linearity, analytical error, Accreditation systems, Metrology in environment, QA/QC parameters in environmental studies, use of CRMs (Certified reference materials), inter-laboratory comparison exercise, participation in National and International round Robin tests. Representativeness of sampling site, selection of analytical method, selection of appropriate analytical technique, proper storage of samples with suitable preservative, sample blank, field blank, solvent blank, efficiency of extraction, efficiency of sampling, determination of uncertainty in flow, sample preparation.20. Pollution Biology ES - 220Concepts: Pollutants vs. resources; cycling of materials, tolerance ranges, carrying capacity, bioaccumulation. Air Pollution: Responses of plants and animals, monitoring (e.g. lichens) and control of air pollution by plants. Water pollution: Responses of plants and animals to changes in physico-chemical characteristics; distribution of plants in relation to pollution (microphytes; Phytoplankton, periphyton and moorophytes); Biological monitoring and control of pollution in water. Soil pollution: Responses of plants to soil pollution; changes in soil characteristics by waste disposal, sanitary land fills, mining wastes and human activities, and effects on plants and animals.21. Biodiversity and Conservation ES - 221Biodiversity concepts and patterns, Microbial diversity, Plant diversity, Agrobiodiversity, Soil biodiversity, Economic value of biodiversity, biodiversity losses. Biodiversity hotspots and their characteristic flora and fauna, threatened plants and animals of India, ecosystem people and traditional conservation mechanisms, Biodiversity Convention and Biodiversity Act, IPRs, national and international programmes for biodiversity conservation. Wildlife values and eco-tourism, wildlife distribution in India, problem in wildlife protection, role of WWF, WCU, CITES, TRAFFIC, Wildlife Protection Act 1972. In-situ conservation: sanctuaries, biospheres reserves, national parks, nature reserves, preservation plots. Ex-situ conservation: botanical gardens, zoos, aquaria, homestead garden; herbarium; In-vitro Conservation: germplasm and gene Bank; tissue culture: pollen and spore back, DNA bank.22. Forest Ecology ES - 222Forest and forest environment: Structure of forest ecosystem, major forest types of the world, forest types and forest cover of India, regeneration ecology of forest trees. Forest ecosystem function: Primary productivity of forest ecosystems, litter production and decomposition, nutrient cycling and nutrient conservation strategies, plant water relations. Forest ecosystem management: Forest management systems, joint forest management, forest hydrology, forest fire, application of remote sensing technique in forest ecology, deforestation and sustainable forestry, forest laws, non timber forest products. Role of Biology in management and habitat management techniques. Wildlife farming: Objectives, management design, wildlife products, disease control, breeding. Behavioral, ecology and evaluation.23. Microbial Ecology ES - 223An overview of microbial life and its importance in the environment, Microbial structure and function with special emphasis on Bacteria and Archaea, Evolution and microbial phylogenetic diversity, Microbial nutrition and metabolism with emphasis on microbial metabolic diversity, Environmental factors affecting microbial growth and microbial adaptations to extreme environments (like arctic regions and hot springs), Methods in microbial ecology including introduction to microbial genomics, Microbial habitats (air, soil, subsurface, freshwater, marine and the deep sea), Introduction to geomicrobiology, Natural microbial communities with emphasis on biofilms, Microbial biogeochemical processes of nutrient cycling and biodegradation, Microbial interactions: microbe-microbe interactions, plants as microbial habitats, animals as microbial habitats and human microbiome, Applying microbes in wastewater treatment and solid waste management, Industrial applications of microbes including products for health-pharmaceutical, food and beverage industry and biofuels, Molecular biotechnological applications including genetic engineering for the production of vaccines, diagnostics, biopesticides and transgenic plants, Microbial disease ecology and public health, Transmission of microbial diseases through the environment.24. Ecosystem Dynamics ES - 224The ecosystem concept, abiotic and biotic components. Energy input in ecosystem, standing crop, biomass, primary and secondary production, gross and net production, concept of food chain food web, ten percent law, net community production, methods of measuring productivity, pattern of primary production and biomass in the major ecosystem of the world, Energy flow, Feed back and control. Biogeochemical cycles, gaseous and sedimentary turnover rate and turnover item. Hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, sulphur cycle, phosphorus cycle, nutrient budget, man’s impact on nutrient cycles. Population dynamics.25. Environmental Biophysics ES - 225Cellular function of cell, membrane structure and transport origin and conduction of impulses in nerve cell muscles, methods in bioelectric measurements. Radiation and molecular response, elementary aspects of atomic and molecular excitation, biointeractions with environment, fundamental and applied aspects of extremely low frequency, radio and microwave fields, bioacoustics, biomedical aspects of laser. Magnetic environments and geomagnetic fields, behavioural changes, therapeutic and diagnostic possibilities.26. Ecology and Sustainable Development ES - 226Ecosystem concept in space and time; Ecosystem level processes and landscape level processes; the concept of sustainable development temporal and spatial dimensions; Currencies for evaluations of sustainable development- Biophysical measurements; Environmental degradations and conservation issues; Global change and sustainability issues: Climate change, biological invasion, bio-diversity concerns; Ecosystem and social processes in: (a) Rehabilitation of degraded rural landscape, (b) Rehabilitation of unbalanced soils, (c) Rehabilitation of specialized habitats, e.g. water bodies, mangroves; (d) Mined area rehabilitation participatory research and education environmental decision making with people initiates.27. Environmental Xenobiotics and human health ES - 227Interaction of pollutants with biological systems at different levels, e.g., organism, organs, and cell organelles. Biochemical degradation of pollutants inside the cell as well as cellular interactions with the pollutants. Toxins of plant origin. Stress response in living systems. Toxicogenomics: Human population issues and population genetics. Pharmacogenomics; Epidemiology. Cellular interaction and metabolism of xenobiotics; metabolic disorders. Bioconversion of pollutants: active vs. inactive process; enzymic degradation by monooxygenases; Role of cytochrome P 450 and its multiple forms. Immunology: Immune cell responses, Immunity and Immunodeficiency. Allergy and hypersensitive reactions and disorders of immune responses. Carcinogens and Carcinogenesis. Metal toxicity: chemical form, metal biomacromolecule interaction, teratogenecity.28. Fundamentals of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology ES - 228Basic concepts of molecular biology needed for understanding biotechnology. DNA structure and organization into chromosomes. DNA replication. Repetitive DNA; coding and noncoding sequences in genomes. Gene structure and expression. Mechanics of transcription, translation and their regulation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Key discoveries (restriction enzymes, bacterial plasmids, modifying enzymes) leading to recombinant DNA technology. Overview of basic techniques in genetic engineering: Introduction of cloned genes into new hosts using plasmid and phage vector systems. Expression cloning, affinity purification of expressed proteins. Nucleic acid hybridization and polymerase chain reaction as sensitive detection methods. DNA sequencing. Analysis of genomes and proteomes by bioinformatics tools. Genome-wide analysis using microarrays.29. Applied Biotechnology and Bioremediations ES - 229Practical aspects of genetic engineering with microorganisms from extreme environment: Use of extremophilic microorganisms in waste treatment and methane production from agro industrial wastes; Production of enzymes like cellulase, proteases, amylases; alcohol and acetic acid production; Biocomposting: Microbial process involvement, vermin composting, biofertilizer, biopesticides production. Biomining: Microbial leaching of low grade mineral ores, molecular probes for organisms in mines and mine tailings, Petroleum pollutant biodegradation. Alternate fuels: Source and mechanism of various biofuel production. Bioremediation: Concept, role of bioremediation in controlling various pollution problems e.g. solid water, sewage water, industrial effluents, heavy metals, radioactive substances, oil spillage. Phytoremediation: Abatement of different types of pollution using plants, types of phytoremediation, mechanism involved with case studies. Waste water treatment strategies: Domestic and Industrial waste-water, application of microbiology waste treatment. Metagenomics: Environmental Genomics, ecogenomics or community genomics, the study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples and future applications in bioremediation.30. Eco-Toxicology ES - 230Principles in toxicology; Definition of Xenobiotics. Animal management in toxicological evaluation; Animal toxicity tests; Statistical concepts of LD50; Dose-effect and dose response relationship; Frequency response and cumulative response; Biological and chemical factors that influence toxicity; Bio-transformation and bio-accumulation. Influence of ecological factors on the effects of toxicity; Concept of green chemistry. Pollution of the ecosphere by industries; Global dispersion of toxic substance; Dispersion and circulating mechanisms of pollutants; degradable and non-degradable toxic substances; food chain. Eco-system influence on the fate and transport of toxicants. Aquatic toxicity tests; Statistical tests; Response of planktons to toxicants; EC49; Photosynthetic bacteria; Bio-absorption of heavy metals. Information management system in eco-toxicology.31. Environmental and Occupational Health ES - 231Basic principle of environmental health. Physiological responses of man to relevant stresses in the environment. Cases and effects of pollution. Industrial Toxicology: Study of environmental dose effect relationships. Evaluation of toxicity and threshold limits. Principles and methods of occupational health. The relationship of occupation of hygiene and safety and disease. Health maintenance: Survey, analysis and recommendations regarding health and safety problems in the working and living environment. Biostatistics, epidemiology: Application of statistical methods to medical records in the study of health problems of human population in a given environment. Treatment of variation, with demographic, vital statistics and epidemiological data. Hazard evaluation in polluted environment with specific emphasis on radiological health. Industrial hygiene technology-laboratory remains illustrating the principles, methods of recognizing evaluating and controlling environmental hazards like air pollution, etc.I would suggest you to visit the link School of Environmental Sciences for further information.