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Tagetes erecta L. was raised in pots containing soil treated with various concentrations of Pb(NO 3 ) 2 (500, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500mg/kg). At maturity plants were separated into root, stem, leaves and inflorescence and lead accumulated in each part was quantified. The effects of lead accumulation on growth was analyzed by the measurement of various growth parameters like root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot and total leaf area per plant. Moreover effect of lead accumulation on biochemical parameters was checked by quantitative estimation of various biochemical parameters like chlorophyll, total protein, free amino acids, total sugar, reducing sugar and starch. Results showed that there is no remarkable negative effect of accumulation of lead on the morphological growth of the plant. Biochemical analysis showed that amount of total protein continuously decreased whereas that of free amino acids continuously increased with increasing concentrations of lead. Amount of chlorophyll, total sugar, reducing sugar and starch contents continuously increased till mid-level i.e., Pb 1500 mg/kg and then continuously decreased at higher concentrations. Results of quantitative estimation of Pb in root, stem, leaves and inflorescence showed that roots accumulated highest amount of Pb followed by stem and leaves, whereas inflorescence contained least amount of Pb.

Noggin (NOG) a BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) antagonist plays a key role in preferentially driving a subset of breast cancer cells towards the bone and causing osteolytic lesions leading to severe pain and discomfort in the patients. Owing to its role in bone metastasis, NOG could be promising molecular target in bone metastasis and that identifying small molecule inhibitors could aid in the treatment. Towards identifying cognate inhibitors of NOG, structure based virtual screen was employed. A total of 8.5 million ligands from e-molecule database were screened at a novel binding site on NOG identified by the Sitemap tool, employing GLIDE algorithm. Potential eight molecules were selected based on the Glide score, binding mode and H-bond interactions. Free energy of binding was calculated using Molecular mechanics based MMGBSA and the obtained energy was used in the prioritizing the compounds with the similar structures and glide score. Further, the compounds were evaluated for their druggability employing physico-chemical property analysis. Our study helped in identifying novel potential NOG inhibitors that can further be validated using in-vivo and in-vitro studies and these molecules can also be employed as tool compounds to study the functions of BMP.

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O. basilicum is medicinally important herb having inevitable role in human health. However, the mechanism of action is largely unknown. Present study aims to understand the mechanism of regulation of key human target genes that could plausibly modulated by O. basilicum miRNAs in cross kingdom manner using computational and system biology approach. O. basilicum miRNA sequences were retrieved and their corresponding human target genes were identified using psRNA target and interaction analysis of hub nodes. Six O. basilicum derived miRNAs were found to modulate 26 human target genes which were associated `with PI3K-AKTand MAPK signaling pathways with PTPN11, EIF2S2, NOS1, IRS1 and USO1 as top 5 Hub nodes. O. basilicum miRNAs not only regulate key human target genes having a significance in various diseases but also paves the path for future studies that might explore potential of miRNA mediated cross-kingdom regulation, prevention and treatment of various human diseases including cancer.