BACKGROUND Taxol is an effective antineoplastic agent, originally extracted from the bark of Taxus brevifolia with a low yield. Many attempts have been made to produce Taxol by chemical synthesis, semi-synthesis and plant tissue cultures. However, to date, the availability of this compound is not sufficient to satisfy the commercial requirements. The aim of the present work was to produce suspe...

This study compares phenological observations of Corylus (hazel) and Alnus (alder) flowering with airborne pollen counts of these taxa recorded using volumetric spore traps (2009-2011). The work was carried out in the Polish cities of Szczecin and Rzeszów that are located in different climatic regions. Correlations between pollen concentrations and meteorological data were investigated using Sp...

ABSTRACT In this study, the effect of urbanization and environmental pollution on qualitative (structural) and quantitative changes of the Corylus avellana (hazel) pollen was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and curve-fitting analysis of amide I profile. The obtained spectroscopic results show significant variations in the fraction ...

BACKGROUND In Central Europe, hazel (Corylus sp.) pollen is considered to be an important aeroallergen in early spring. OBJECTIVE This study examines hazel pollen levels in Poznań, western Poland, and the clinical relevance of this aeroallergen in the city. METHODS Corylus pollen data (1996-2010) were obtained by volumetric spore trap located near the centre of Poznań. Clinical data (2006-2...

HIGHLIGHTSIn an abortive ovary of hazel, an integument seldom differentiated and a mature embryo sac never developed.In an abortive ovary of hazel, pollen tube growth was arrested at the style base about 40 days after blooming. Thus, fertilization of the ovule was precluded.Ovary abortion in the four hybrid cultivars was indicated to be associated with insufficient resource availability to supp...

In the anthers of flowering plants, gymnosperms, and seed ferns, tiny (¡1 mm) granules might occur on the radial and innermost tangential wall of secretory tapetum cells. These sporopollenin granules develop simultaneously with the pollen exine and are called orbicules or Ubisch bodies. The present paper focuses on two quite different topics associated with orbicules. The morphological and ultr...

The effect of litter on seedling establishment can influence species richness in plant communities. The effect of litter depends on amount, and also on litter type, but relatively little is known about the species-specific effects of litter. We conducted a factorial greenhouse experiment to examine the effect of litter type, using two woody species that commonly co-occur in boreonemoral forest-...

To determine whether the pathogenic Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia spielmanii is adapted exclusively to garden dormice, we compared the reservoir competence of various rodent species for this spirochete, including sympatric and peridomestic rodents. The different kinds of rodents varied in their attractiveness to nymphal ticks and their level of susceptibility to tick-borne B. spielmanii infe...