The analysis of alder pollen season in selected cities of Poland in 2021

The study aims to monitor the alder pollen season in selected Polish cities: Bialystok, Cracow, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Zielona Gora in 2021. Pollen concentrations were recorded by volumetric method using a Burkard-type sampler operating in a continuous volumetric mode. Alder pollen season, defined as the period with 98% of the annual total catch, started in 3rd decade of February in all monitoring sites. There was a marked variation in duration of the season between the sites. It lasted from 31 in Cracow to 54 days in Bialystok (38 days on average). The highest peak daily alder pollen concentrations were observed in Wroclaw (1879 grains/m3) on February 26th). The longest exposure to high concentrations of alder pollen, lasting 22–24 days, was detected in Zielona Gora, Piotrkow Trybunalski and Olsztyn. The alder pollen season in 2021, compared to the previous year, was longer, with higher average sum of daily concentrations over the season, higher maximum daily concentrations and longer exposure to high pollen concentrations at most monitoring sites.

Influence of Environmental Pollutants at the Pollen of Poaceae

More than 12,000 species belong to the Poaceae family globally; 300 species grow in Kyrgyzstan, anemophilous and releasing a huge amount of pollen into the atmosphere. Poaceae pollen is currently considered the leading airborne biological pollutant (PM10) and the leading cause of pollen allergy worldwide. She is one of the top global aeroallergens. Poaceae pollen has common features: small size, homogeneous morphology, high pollen production and abundance of species. The aim of this work was to study the effect of environmental pollutants on the pollen of Poaceae plants, the classification of identified teratomorphoses and assessment of their specific contribution to the aerobiological situation. The study of Poaceae pollen from various observation points of Kyrgyzstan using scanning electron microscopy revealed teratomorphoses of varying degrees of complexity: 1) deformation; 2) perforation; 3) fragmentation; 4) complex changes in the sculptural elements of the exine surface; 5) combined teratomorphosis, including several types with the transformation of one modification into another. This article summarizes the results of studies reflecting the effects of environmental pollutants on Poaceae pollen, and ultimately on the severity of symptoms and the prevalence of pollinosis.

Inflorescence architecture, floral part movements and pollinator attraction by androecia – contrivance for successful mating in Eremurus himalaicus Baker

Present study has been carried out to understand the mating strategies of Eremurus himalaicus Baker., important medicinal endemic plant, for its sustainable utilization. The inflorescence architecture, large numbers of attractive flowers, presence of sterile flowers which give specific arrangement to inflorescence, the coloured, attractive androecia and nectaries attract the pollinators. Protoandry, moderate to high pollen ovule ratio, unique movement of stigma away from dehiscing anthers, movement of pedicels and breeding experiment revealed that the species is primarily geitonogamous but xanogamy though rare is also operative. The exine sculpture and pollen size depicts that both anemophily and entomophily is operative in the species. Present study may provide important information for the conservation of this endemic medicinal plant species which has been categorized as threatened by various authors.

Pollen diversity in honeys of the Czech Republic in the 2019 season

Honeybees are important pollinators. As a side product of pollination, honeybees produce honey, as a natural sweetener. The source of honey depends on the hive location. In specific conditions honeybees produce monofloral honey, but more common are polyfloral kinds of honey. In this study honey from the Czech Republic in the 2019 season was evaluated by melissopalynology analysis. The common botanical taxa in the Czech Republic were determined and season impact to pollen taxa was compared for dominant pollen taxa. The taxonomic distribution of pollen in Czech honey was stable during the year. The average number of species was 11.52 taxa per sample. The dominant pollen source in Czech honey was the Brassicaceae family. The high pollen content in honey was confirmed also in the Rosacea family (fruit tree), Ubelliferacae family and Myosotis genus. During the year the pollen taxa were equally distributed in honey. Seasonal effects were confirmed only in Salix genus, Ubelliferacae family and Phacelia genus. Seasonal effects correspond with the blooming season and honeybee handling in the hive was also confirmed. High variability during the season and hive location was confirmed for other taxa.

Comparative cytological and transcriptome analysis reveals high pollen fertility and upregulation of environmentally sensitive genic male sterility genes in neo-tetraploid rice

Background: Autotetraploid rice is a useful germplasm for polyploid rice breeding; however, low seed setting is a major hindrance for the utilization of autotetraploid rice. Our previous study demonstrated that neo-tetraploid rice have great yield potential, which is thought to be one effective way to overcome the low fertility of autotetraploid rice. However, there is little known about the cause of high pollen fertility in neo-tetraploid rice. Here, we employed cytology and RNA-seq to study the molecular genetic mechanism of high pollen fertility in neo-tetraploid rice. Results: Cytological observations indicate that H1 displayed high pollen fertility (95.62%), lower percentage of pollen mother cells（PMCs）abnormalities, and stable chromosome configurations during the pollen development process compared with its two parents. RNA-seq analysis detected 440 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in neo-tetraploid rice compared with its two parents. Of these DEGs, 193 were annotated as pollen fertility-related genes, and 129 (~66.8%) exhibited significant upregulation in neo-tetraploid rice compared with its two parents, including nine cloned genes ( TMS9-1 , TMS5 etc.) that were validated by qRT-PCR and had been demonstrated to be pollen fertility-related genes. We further selected TMS9-1 and TMS5 as the candidate gene and analysed its pollen fertility in neo-tetraploid rice using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique. Significant variations have been detected in pollen fertility value, pollen development process and expression level in H1 and its knock out lines. Conclusion: Our finding provides strong evidence for the regulatory mechanisms of neo-tetraploid rice, and upregulation of pollen fertility-related genes should be associated with high fertility. Moreover, knockout of environmentally sensitive genic male sterility genes in the present study provides the new useful germplasm for polyploidy rice breeding.

Comparative cytological and transcriptome analysis reveals high pollen fertility and upregulation of environmentally sensitive genic male sterility genes in neo-tetraploid rice

Background: Autotetraploid rice is a useful germplasm for polyploid rice breeding; however, low seed setting is a major hindrance for the utilization of autotetraploid rice. Our previous study demonstrated that neo-tetraploid rice have great yield potential, which is thought to be one effective way to overcome the low fertility of autotetraploid rice. However, there is little known about the cause of high pollen fertility in neo-tetraploid rice. Here, we employed cytology and RNA-seq to study the molecular genetic mechanism of high pollen fertility in neo-tetraploid rice. Results: Cytological observations indicate that H1 displayed high pollen fertility (95.62%), lower percentage of pollen mother cells（PMCs）abnormalities, and stable chromosome configurations during the pollen development process compared with its two parents. RNA-seq analysis detected 1479 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in neo-tetraploid rice compared with its two parents. Of these DEGs, 433 were annotated as pollen fertility-related genes, and 240 (~55.4%) exhibited significant upregulation in neo-tetraploid rice compared with its two parents, including nine cloned genes ( TMS5 , CSA etc.) that were validated by qRT-PCR and had been demonstrated to be pollen fertility-related genes. We further selected TMS5 as a candidate gene and analysed its phenotype in neo-tetraploid rice using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique. Significant variations have been detected in phenotypic charts, pollen development process and expression level in H1 and TMS5 knockout lines. Conclusion: Our finding provides strong evidence for the regulatory mechanisms of neo-tetraploid rice, and upregulation of pollen fertility-related genes should be associated with high fertility. Moreover, knockout of environmentally sensitive genic male sterility genes in the present study provide the new useful germplasm for polyploidy rice breeding.