In this 31-year retrospective study, we examined the influence of meteorology on airborne Betula spp. (birch) pollen concentrations in Turku, Finland. The seasonal incidence of airborne birch pollen in Turku occurred over a brief period each year during spring (April 30 - May 31). Mean peak concentrations were restricted to May (May 5 to 13). Statistically significant increases in the annual ac...

Background: Due to its nutrient content, a variety of spoilage microorganisms can grow in bee pollen, especially when handling practices are not appropriate. So, this survey was designed to assess the physicochemical and microbiological properties of bee pollen collected from Bulgaria. Methods: In June 2014, 13 fresh and 19 dried bee pollen samples were collected from Bulgaria. Water activity ...

BACKGROUND The male gametophyte developmental programme can be divided into five phases which differ in relation to the environment and pollen hydration state: (1) pollen develops inside the anther immersed in locular fluid, which conveys substances from the mother plant--the microsporogenesis phase; (2) locular fluid disappears by reabsorption and/or evaporation before the anther opens and the...

The role of heterotrimeric G proteins in pollen germination, tube growth, and signal transduction of extracellular calmodulin (CaM) was examined in lily pollen. Two kinds of antibodies raised against animal Gzalpha, one against an internal sequence and the other against its N terminus, cross-reacted with the same 41-kD protein from lily pollen plasma membrane. This 41-kD protein was also specif...

Public debate about the possible risk of genetically modified plants often concerns putative effects of pollen dispersal and out-crossing into conventional fields in the neighborhood of transgenic plants. Though Vitis vinifera (grapevine) is generally considered to be self-pollinating, it cannot be excluded that vertical gene transfer might occur. For monitoring pollen flow and out-crossing eve...

One expected effect of climate change on human health is increasing allergic and asthmatic symptoms through changes in pollen biology. Allergic diseases have a large impact on human health globally, with 10-30% of the population affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million affected by asthma. Pollen from grass species, which are highly allergenic and occur worldwide, elicits allergic...

SCOPE English walnut (Juglans regia) belongs to the most important allergenic tree nuts. Co-sensitization with birch (Betula verrucosa) pollen has been reported. We aimed to identify a walnut allergen homologous to the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1. METHODS AND RESULTS A cDNA encoding a Bet v 1-homologous allergen (Jug r 5) in walnut kernels was cloned by RT-PCR. Jug r 5 was expressed i...