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Podophyllum hexandrum—an endangered, high-altitude medicinal herb is a vital source of the therapeutically important lignan viz. podophyllotoxin (PTOX). PTOX is widely used as a precursor for semi-synthesis of anticancer drugs etoposide, teniposide and etopophos. Although next generation sequencing has been employed to characterize the genes involved in PTOX biosynthesis; the complete biosynthetic pathway is yet to be known. miRNAs play pivotal roles in secondary metabolites biosynthesis besides plant growth and development. Till date, several novel miRNAs have been identified in different plant species, but novel miRNAs and their regulatory functions still remains unknown in P. hexandrum. Here, two small RNA libraries were prepared from control and MeJA treated cell cultures of P. hexandrum. High-throughput sequencing of these small RNA libraries yielded 59 novel miRNAs in control and 66 novel miRNAs in treated P. hexandrumapart from known miRNAs. The identified miRNAs targeted different mRNAs. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis unveiled the role of these miRNAs in various secondary metabolites biosynthetic pathways. qRT-PCR analysis showed lower expression of a set of miRNAs identified in MeJA treated cell culture. The current study expands our knowledge of novel miRNAs mediated secondary metabolites, especially PTOX biosynthesis, in P. hexandrum.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gaining more and more importance in diagnosis of dermatologic conditions since COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the literature on AI in dermatology focus on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer detection, with reporting from 81.0%-99.0%. Other commonly studied diseases include psoriasis, acne vulgaris, onychomycosis, atopic dermatitis. While AI has the potential to improve access to dermatologic care, especially in underserved communities, challenges remain in its implementation. Here we review the different application of AI in dermatology and their outcomes, focusing on the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity of different AI algorithm in diagnosis of different skin conditions. This review may provide an organized summary of the various applications of AI in dermatology and their potential outcomes.

The report describes the synthesis, self-association and DNA binding studies of an aromatic tripeptide H-Phe-Phe-Phe-OH (FFF). The peptide backbone adopts β—sheet conformation both in solid and solution. In aqueous solution, FFF self-assembles to form nanostructured aggregates. Interactions of this peptide with calf-thymus DNA (ct-DNA) have been studied using various biophysical techniques including ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The value of mean binding constant calculated from UV and fluorescence spectroscopic data is (2.914 ± 0.74) x 103M−1which is consistent with an external binding mode. Fluorescence intercalator displacement (FID) assay, iodide quenching study, viscosity measurement and thermal denaturation study of DNA further confirm the groove binding mode of peptide, FFF with ct-DNA. MTT cell survival assay reveals very low cytotoxicity of the peptide toward human lung carcinoma cell line A549.