Bogdan Jackowiak

Airborne olive pollen counts are not representative of exposure to the major olive allergen Ole e 1

Pollen is routinely monitored, but it is unknown whether pollen counts represent allergen exposure. We therefore simultaneously determined olive pollen and Ole e 1 in ambient air in Córdoba, Spain, and Évora, Portugal, using Hirst‐type traps for pollen and high‐volume cascade impactors for allergen.

Variation of the group 5 grass pollen allergen content of airborne pollen in relation to geographic location and time in season

BACKGROUND Allergies to grass pollen are the number one cause of outdoor hay fever. The human immune system reacts with symptoms to allergen from pollen. OBJECTIVE We investigated the natural variability in release of the major group 5 allergen from grass pollen across Europe. METHODS Airborne pollen and allergens were simultaneously collected daily with a volumetric spore trap and a high-volume cascade impactor at 10 sites across Europe for 3 consecutive years. Group 5 allergen levels were determined with a Phl p 5-specific ELISA in 2 fractions of ambient air: particulate matter of greater than 10 μm in diameter and particulate matter greater than 2.5 μm and less than 10 μm in diameter. Mediator release by ambient air was determined in FcεRI-humanized basophils. The origin of pollen was modeled and condensed to pollen potency maps. RESULTS On average, grass pollen released 2.3 pg of Phl p 5 per pollen. Allergen release per pollen (potency) varied substantially, ranging from less than 1 to 9 pg of Phl p 5 per pollen (5% to 95% percentile). The main variation was locally day to day. Average potency maps across Europe varied between years. Mediator release from basophilic granulocytes correlated better with allergen levels per cubic meter (r(2) = 0.80, P < .001) than with pollen grains per cubic meter (r(2) = 0.61, P < .001). In addition, pollen released different amounts of allergen in the non-pollen-bearing fraction of ambient air, depending on humidity. CONCLUSION Across Europe, the same amount of pollen released substantially different amounts of group 5 grass pollen allergen. This variation in allergen release is in addition to variations in pollen counts. Molecular aerobiology (ie, determining allergen in ambient air) might be a valuable addition to pollen counting.

Variations and trends of birch pollen seasons during 15 years (1996–2010) in relation to weather conditions in Poznań (western Poland)

Abstract Birch (Betula) pollen seasons were examined in relation to meteorological conditions in Poznań (1996–2010). Birch pollen grains were collected using a volumetric spore trap. An alternate biennial cycle of birch pollen season intensity was noticed in Poznań. The main factors influencing birch pollen season intensity were average daily minimum temperatures during the second fortnight of May and the month of June one year before pollination as well as the intensity of the pollen season of the previous year. Most of the pollen grains are recorded during the first week of the season; the number of pollen grains recorded at this time is positively correlated with mean maximum temperature and negatively correlated with daily rainfall. The significant effect of rainfall in reducing the season pollen index was noticed only during weak pollen seasons (season pollen index < mean). In addition, mean daily maximum temperature during the first two weeks of the birch pollen season markedly influences its duration. No significant trends in duration and intensity of the pollen season were recorded, however, a slight tendency towards early pollination was observed (−0.4 days/year, p = 0.310).

Variability of stomata and 45S and 5S rDNAs loci characteristics in two species of Anthoxanthum genus: A. aristatum and A. odoratum (Poaceae)

Diploid Anthoxanthum odoratum and tetraploid A. aristatum were compared with respect to stomatal guard cell lengths, and stomatal density at adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the lamina. Further, the genome size of both species was determined by flow cytometry, and the number as well as the chromosomal distribution of 5S and 45S rDNAs were examined using FISH with ribosomal DNA (rDNA) probes. The average length of stomatal guard cells in A. odoratum was shown to be greater than that for A. aristatum, but the ranges overlapped. Moreover, reduction in stomatal frequency was found at higher ploidy levels.The genome size was 6.863 pg/2C DNA for A. aristatum and 13.252 pg/2C DNA for A. odoratum. A. aristatum has four sites of 5S rDNA in its root-tip meristematic cells, whereas A. odoratum has six. Both species have six sites of 45S rDNA. Chromosomal localization of the rDNA varied, which suggests that chromosome rearrangements took place during Anthoxanthum genome evolution.

Professor Marta Mizianty - a plant taxonomist and cytologist

The group of prominent botanists, we dedicate pages in Biodiversity: Research and conservation, joins Maria Mizianty, a titular professor of the W≥adys≥aw Szafer Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences in KrakÛw. An excellent occasion for this commemoration is the 10 scientific conference devoted to grasses. This extremely fruitful meeting series of specialists in the various aspects of grass diversity, takes place on the initiative of two persons: Professor Marta Mizianty and Professor Ludwik Frey. About the achievements of the latter, Professor Karol Latowski also writes in this issue of BRC (pp. 7-12). Marta Mizianty was born in Wa≥brzych. She spent her childhood and school period in Nowy Sπcz, where she completed the Primary School No. 2 and Maria Konopnicka High School II. In 1969, straight after fiveyear studies in biology at the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences of Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznaÒ, she took a position in the Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences in KrakÛw. Her whole professional carrier, i.e. over 40 years, has been connected with this meritorious for Polish and world botany institution. Prof. Marta Mizianty conducted her first scientific investigations under the supervision of Prof. Jerzy Szweykowski, who, at that time, initiated biosystematic studies on bryophytes. In her masterís thesis, she focused on the variability of Polish population of Plagiochila asplenioides. She often and willingly thinks back to the years in PoznaÒ, emphasizing the significant influence of Prof. Szweykowski on her further scientific choices and attitude to scientific work. In the first period of stay in KrakÛw, i.e. in the years 1969-1976, Prof. Mizianty connected her scientific studies with the work as a technical assistant. Her research concentrated on the biosystematics of vascular plants and her key scientific works revolve around these issues: ï doctoral thesis ÑZmiennoúÊ Rhinanthus serotinus (Schˆnheit) Oborny na terenie Polskiî [Variability of Rhinanthus serotinus (Schˆnheit) Oborny in the Fig. 1. Professor Marta Mizianty (photograph by W. Paul) area of Poland], written in 1987 under the supervision of Prof. Adam Jasiewicz ï habilitation thesis ÑBiosystematic studies on Dactylisî published in 1992 in Fragmenta Floristica et Geobotanica as a series of 7 publications.

Morphological variability of the two altitude vicariants, Anthoxanthum odoratum L. s.s. and Anthoxanthum alpinum in the Babia Góra Massif (Western Carpathian Mountains – Żywiec Beskid, Poland)

Abstract Anthoxanthum odoratum, a species occurring below the upper forest limit on the Babia Góra Mountain, is replaced by Anthoxanthum alpinum in the subalpine and alpine belts. It is a typical example of altitudinal vicariance. The aim of the study was to determine the range of morphological variability within the populations of A. odoratum and A. alpinum along an altitudinal transect. Special attention was paid to specimens growing in the transition zone between both species. Plant material was collected from 11 localities and samples were examined with respect to 24 morphological traits of the panicle. Results were analysed with the use of multidimensional statistical methods. It was found that A. alpinum grows above the upper forest limit. Populations of this species have a relatively small range of variability of the studied traits. Samples originating from the contact zone, situated at the altitude of c. 1166 m above sea level, consist of individuals representing both species. In turn, samples collected below the upper forest limit represent A. odoratum and occasionally A. alpinum, and reveal considerable morphological differentiation.

Professor Adam Zając — a sketch on His scientific output on the 70th birthday

Professor Adam Zając — a sketch on His scientific output on the 70th birthday