Scribd
Upload
38 views3 pages

ELTE Biology MSC Entrance Interview Topics 2024 2

The document outlines topics for the entrance interview to the Biology M.Sc. Program at Eötvös Loránd University for 2024, covering various specializations including Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology, Plant Biology, Ecology, and Neuroscience. Each specialization includes detailed subject areas such as gene regulation, cell cycle control, plant metabolism, evolution mechanisms, and human biology. Recommended literature is also provided for each specialization to aid in preparation.

Uploaded by

Hakhakhi Maphupha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
38 views3 pages

ELTE Biology MSC Entrance Interview Topics 2024 2

The document outlines topics for the entrance interview to the Biology M.Sc. Program at Eötvös Loránd University for 2024, covering various specializations including Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology, Plant Biology, Ecology, and Neuroscience. Each specialization includes detailed subject areas such as gene regulation, cell cycle control, plant metabolism, evolution mechanisms, and human biology. Recommended literature is also provided for each specialization to aid in preparation.

Uploaded by

Hakhakhi Maphupha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Topics in the entrance interview to the Biology M.Sc.

Program in English
(at Eötvös Loránd University) – 2024
Specialization in Molecular Genetics, Cell- and Developmental Biology
(MGCDB)
GENETICS
1. Gene and regulation of gene activity. Mendelian laws. Main characteristics of primary
transcript, exon, intron, allele, co-linearity of gene and transcript. Exceptions of Mendelian
laws (linkage, gene conversion, gene interactions).
2. Mutation and structure of chromosomes. Mutations on DNA and chromosomal level, ploidity,
balancer chromosomes, mutagen agents, Ames test, mutation repair, pleiotropy, DNA
polymorphic markers, DNA diagnostics. Chromatin structure, specific chromosomes (e.g.,
polytene chromosomes in Drosophila), sex-linked inheritance.
3. Recombination. Linkage, gene conversion and crossing over, chiasm. Holliday structure,
tetrad analysis, the molecular mechanism of recombination. Gene transfer and gene mapping
in phages, bacteria and eukaryotes, determination of gene order, map distance, crossover
interference, mapping (Haldane) rule. Haplotype.
4. Developmental genetics. Genetic and biochemical pathways, epistasis (double mutant)
analysis, genetic interactions, main signal transduction (genetic) pathways, sex determination
and dosage compensation, early development in Drosophila, mosaic analysis, maternal effect
genes, maternal inheritance.
CELL BIOLOGY
5. Structure of the plasma membrane and membrane transport processes.
6. Compartmentalization of the eukaryotic cell. Targeting of specific protein and RNA molecules.
Internal connections of the endomembrane system: vesicular transport, membrane fluidity.
7. The features of cell cycle and cell cycle control. Extrinsic regulation: mode of action of growth
factors, cell signaling pathways (Ras - MAP-kinase pathway). Intrinsic regulation: checkpoints
(cyclin - CDK complexes, mode of action of retinoblastoma and p53 proteins).
8. Role of intercellular connections in multicellular organisms. General characteristics of cell
signaling pathways upon an example. Basic tissue types, examples of cellular communication
on the molecular level.

Specialization in Molecular, Immun- and Microbiology (MIM) and specialization


in Bioinformatics (BINF)
1. Structure of biomolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, proteins. Protein folding and its
stability. Molecular evolution. Protein research methods.
2. Mechanism of replication, transcription and translation. DNA repair. Genetic code. Control of
gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Fundamentals of gene technology.
3. Basics of bioinformatics: DNA sequencing, databases, genome projects, structure of proteins.
4. Functions of proteins: myoglobin, hemoglobin, motor proteins. Principles of regulation. Basics
of enzyme activity. Catalytic mechanisms (chymotrypsin). Enzyme kinetics.

1
5. Major metabolic pathways, their characteristics, and control. Fundamentals of bioenergetics,
relevance of ATP. Mechanism of biological oxidation. Function of ATP synthase.
6. Principles of prokaryotic metabolism. Cultivation of microorganisms.
7. General characteristics of biogeochemical cycles. The role of microbes in biogeochemical
cycles.
8. Organization of the bacterial cell.
9. Cellular components and function of the native immune system; its connections with the
adaptive immune system.
10. Cellular components and function of the adaptive immune system; its connections with the
native immune system.

Specialization: Plant Biology and Mycology (PBM)


PLANT ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY:
1. General features of the photoautotrophic metabolism of plants.
2. Long distance transport elements and their function in plants. The uptake of water and mineral
nutrients.
3. Interactions between plants and their environment. Perception of and responses to
environmental signals. The concept of plant stress.
4. The organization and expression of the plant genome. Nuclear and organellar genomes in the
plant cells.
5. Morphological, physiological and regulation aspects of the sexual reproduction in plants
TAXONOMY:
6. Classification of the photoautotrophic organisms in respect of the synbiogenesis of the plastids
7. Traditional and molecular taxonomic characters in taxonomy. Theoretical principles of
molecular phylogenetics.
MYCOLOGY:
8. Main groups of fungi and their ecological importance.
9. General anatomy, metabolism and reproduction of fungi.
10. Features and importance of the synbiotic relationships between plants and fungi
LITERATURE:
Taiz L., Zeiger E. (et al.) Plant Physiology. 5th edition (2010) or higher, Sinauer Associates / Oxford University
Press

Specialization: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology (EECB)


EVOLUTION
1. The definition of evolution (change in the frequency of inherited traits) and the characteristics
required for it (reproduction, inheritance, diversity). The main mechanisms leading to evolution
are deviation from the ideal population (selection, drift, preferential mating, migration,
mutation). Definition of fitness (for the population of the type, the average growth rate per
individual in a given environment).
ETHOLOGY
2. Functional organization of behavior (presentation of inherited and learnt components upon
examples).
3. Basics of social behavior: communication, proliferative systems and parental behavior,
aggression.
ECOLOGY
4. General principles and science of ecology. Connections between ecology and evolution.
Demography. Change of population size (abundance) in time. Intraspecific (within population)
competition.
5. Ecological environment: conditions and resources. The ecological niche.
6. Basic interactions of populations: Interspecific (between populations) competition. Mutualism.
Commensalism. Predation. Herbivory. Parasitism. Allelopathy.

2
7. Global biodiversity patterns. Organization and function of ecological communities. Fluxes of
energy and matter in ecosystems.
8. Elements of climate, changes in time. Climate of the earth. Climatic effects on soil and
vegetation.
9. Soils, soil formation, physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils. Processes in the
soil profile, soil classification.
10. Geographic distribution of organisms, dynamics in space and time, biological invasion.
Refuges, relicts and endemisms. Island biogeography. Conservation biology.
11. Characteristics, stratification and communities of the freshwater biotope. Structure and
function of freshwater communities, freshwater ecological systems.
PLANT TAXONOMY
12. Classification of plants: from artificial systems to cladistics. Chloroplast symbiogenesis and the
phylogenetic system of photosynthetic eukaryotes before the invasion of land.
13. Traditional and molecular taxonomic characters in plant taxonomy, theoretical principles of
molecular phylogenetics. Recent phylogenetic system of terrestrial plants (Embryophyta).
ANIMAL TAXONOMY
14. Theories of taxonomy. Relationship of taxonomy and systematics. Schools of classification,
phylogenetic systems. Comparative analysis of morphological and molecular trees of life.
Phylogeny of invertebrates, characteristics of main groups.
15. Origin of Chordata, hypotheses. Main evolutionary steps in the phylogeny of Vertebrates,
characteristics of major taxa

Specialisation in Neuroscience and Human Biology (NHB)


NEUROSCIENCE
1. General organization and development of the mammalian nervous system. Principles of
central and peripheral nervous system organization and functions. Structure of cerebellar and
cerebral cortex, their cell types, and principles of function.
2. Cellular components of the nervous system. Main features and functions of neurons and glial
cells. Maintenance of the membrane potential. Electric properties of neurons, generation and
spread of action potential.
3. Intercellular connections in multicellular organisms. Autocrine, paracrine, endocrine,
neuroendocrine and synaptic communication. Synaptic transmission in chemical synapses,
neurotransmitter receptors. General characteristics of cell signalling pathways.
4. Functional organization of perception. Main types of receptors. The role of the thalamus in
perception. Sensory information processing in the somatosensory system. Touch and pain.
5. Sensory processing in humans – special senses. The human visual and auditory system. The
vestibular system, gustation and smell.
6. Organization and regulation of movement. Motor unit and reflexes. Regulation of voluntary
movements. Ascending and descending neural pathways.
7. Neuroendocrine systems and their regulation. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
Endocrine and autonomic regulation of behavioural responses. Homeostasis.
8. Functional organization of behaviour. Different forms of learning. Explicit and implicit memory
storage. Motivation and addiction. Emotions and cognition.
HUMAN BIOLOGY
9. Comparison of main characteristics of Hominoids and Hominids. The phases of Hominid
evolution. The biodiversity of Homo sapiens.
10. The special characteristics and evolution of the human growth and maturation pattern. Human
ontogenesis: prenatal and postnatal growth and maturation. Factors influencing human growth
and maturation pattern.
RECOMMENDED LITERATURE IN NEUROSCIENCE:
Neuroscience; Edited by Dale Purves, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, William C. Hall, Anthony-Samuel
LaMantia, Richard D. Mooney, Michael L. Platt, and Leonard E. White. Oxford University Press, ISBN:
9781605353807

You might also like