Background: The Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak originating in Wuhan, China, has raised global health concerns and the pandemic has now been reported on all inhabited continents. Hitherto, no antiviral drug is available to combat this viral outbreak.Methods: Keeping in mind the urgency of the situation, the current study was designed to devise new strategies for drug discovery and/or repositioning against SARS-CoV-2. In the current study, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which regulates viral replication, is proposed as a potential therapeutic target to inhibit viral infection.Results: Evolutionary studies of whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 represent high similarity (> 90%) with other SARS viruses. Targeting the RdRp active sites, ASP760 and ASP761, by antiviral drugs could be a potential therapeutic option for inhibition of coronavirus RdRp, and thus viral replication. Target-based virtual screening and molecular docking results show that the antiviral Galidesivir and its structurally similar compounds have shown promise against SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: The anti-polymerase drugs predicted here—CID123624208 and CID11687749—may be considered for in vitro and in vivo clinical trials.

The global market of a total 42.4 billion US dollars of ornamental plants owes its worth to the color and fragrance associated with these plants. A lot of work has been done to understand the physiological, biochemical, genetic, and environmental factors responsible for the development of color and fragrance in flowers. The aim of these studies about the floral biology was to achieve the desired characters by manipulating all these factors to fulfill the changing demand of the global market. While, modifying flower color and fragrance, scientists moved from the traditional breeding methods to the comparatively modern genetic engineering techniques, yet limitations in results always remained a big issue for researchers. However, genome editing tools look promising to achieve the desired level of efficiency to modify the color and fragrance in the flowers. This review gives insight into the significance of floral characters, molecular factors responsible for these characters and applications of modern genome editing technologies for desirable modification.

Background: Indeterminate cotton is capable of prolonged vegetative growth and increased fruiting; however, excessive plant height is often associated with fruit abscission, uneven nutrient supply, and difficulties in mechanized harvesting. Therefore, developing early-maturing, machine-harvestable cotton varieties with compact growth remains a long-standing objective for breeders. Members of the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family play central roles in maintaining indeterminate growth in cotton. Results: In this study, molecular docking coupled with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was employed to characterize protein–protein interactions among PEBP family members FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), SELF PRUNING (SP), and the bZIP transcription factor FLOWERING LOCUS D (FD) in Gossypium hirsutum . Docking analysis of Complex I (FD-SP) revealed a strong hydrogen bond (H-bond) and salt bridge between the GLU-242 residue of FD and the ARG-102 residue of SP, whereas in Complex II (FT-FD), the same FD residue (GLU-242) formed an H-bond and a salt bridge with the ARG-111 residue of FT, indicating that SP and FT compete for GLU-242 at FD’s interface. Complex III (FT-SP) displayed comparatively weaker interactions between FT GLU-166 and SP’s LYS-50 through hydrogen bonding and salt bridge formation, suggesting a less favorable interaction. Binding free energy (Δ G ) = –14.1 kcal·mol⁻ ¹ and dissociation constant ( K _D ) = 4.5 × 10 ^–11 M, represented consistent values for Complex I and Complex II, while Complex III indicated substantially weaker binding interactions with Δ G = –10.9 kcal·mol⁻ ¹ and a K _D score of 1.0 × 10 ^–8 M. Furthermore, MD simulations of the docked complexes (I and II) revealed a stable hydrogen-bonding network, low root mean square deviations (RMSDs) of 0.04 nm, and H-bond distances within 0.3 nm throughout the simulation period. In contrast, Complex III exhibited a reduced H-bond network and a late-stage RMSD spike, indicating structural instability compared to the stronger FD-mediated Complexes I and II. Conclusions: These findings provide a structural framework for understanding the competitive interplay among PEBP family members, highlighting potential candidates for future functional validation and the development of improved cotton ideotypes.

Agriculture sector is the backbone of developing countries for their economy. Growing world’s population is putting more pressure on agriculture sector and there is a need to develop new technology to address the crises of food safety and food shortage. Today’s agriculture has been entered in a new era where nanotechnology works as a technological advancement regarding entire agriculture crops, and food sector revolution, even though, it has prodigious applications in food production, food processing, food packaging, food storage and economic growth of industries. Moreover, nanotechnology is the best solution to solve problems related to better food and agriculture. Likewise, biotechnology, nanotechnology also raised high concerns upon safety on biodiversity, health and environment. Nanotechnology is providing efficient alternatives to increase the crop production by managing the insect/pests in agriculture in an eco-friendly manner. It also promotes plant efficiency to absorb nutrients. However, the concerns are very high regarding regulation, safety and approval of nanotechnology products by risk assessment authorities. The suggested review includes stupendous applications of nanotechnology in food and agriculture sector along with its prospective merits and associated risks.