No abstract

The Poaceae family, including grasses, comprises several cosmopolitan and allergenic species. The aim of this study was to determine the correlations between Poaceae pollen and Phl p 5 allergen concentrations in two cities with different geographical and climatic properties in Turkey. Pollen were collected from Burkard traps in Ankara and Zonguldak. Phl p 5 sampling was carried out between March and October in both 2015 and 2016 using a BGI900 Cascade High Volume Air Sampler (900 L/min.). The concentrations of Phl p 5 were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The annual sum of Poaceae pollen (pollen index) during 2015-2016 was 5454 in Ankara and 4142 in Zonguldak. The total Phl p 5 concentration was 1309 pg/m in Zonguldak, whereas it was 8181 pg/m in Ankara over 2 years. About 90% of the allergen was found in the fraction with particulate matter (PM) > 10 μm in both cities. It was found that the main meteorological parameter which affected pollen and Phl p 5 was temperature in both stations. Rainfall was also found to be important for Zonguldak, due to its climatic and geographic properties. Lastly, we suggest that the primary wind direction, which is from the south of Zonguldak, could have a 'drift effect' for allergens because of the airborne pollen concentrations and the dates on which the allergen is released into the atmosphere. The wind direction may be an important factor in the distribution of allergen and pollen grains in stations, especially those with a hilly topography.

Background Pollen, mold spores, bacteria and viruses are the main biological substances in the atmosphere causing allergic symptoms and disease. Distinguishing pollen and spores is quite time consuming and requires a trained expert. There is a different approach to identification of these substances such as microscopic analysis. However, DNA based identification of these is becoming popular recently. Objective We evaluated the correlation between the quantity of DNA, which was amplified using trnT-F cpDNA specific primers in samples obtained from a high volume air sampler (HVAS), and concentration of Poaceae pollen collected with a Burkard trap. Materials and methods Here, we present a method for identifying and quantifying airborne Poaceae pollen using a single step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Forty daily air samples were collected by HVAS. The method was optimised using two different methods (M1 and M2) and the trnT-F cpDNA region was amplified using a Poaceae specific primer pair. The correlation between the quantity of DNA and pollen concentration was tested using R statistical programming language. Results Although a significant correlation was obtained between the M1 and M2 methods (R2=0.655, p<0.01), the M2 method was more correlated with pollen concentration. The correlation between pollen and DNA content changed due to episodes that were observed during the pollen season. DNA concentrations from the PCR data were significantly correlated with pollen concentrations determined by light microscopy (R2=0.767, p<0.01) in episode II using the M2 method and during the entire season (R2=0.469, p<0.01) using M2. Conclusions The M2 method correctly identified Poaceae pollen in mixed air samples from Zonguldak Province. The non-coding trnT-F cpDNA region was used for the first time in aerobiological samples to identify Poaceae pollen. Use of this method that does not require DNA extraction may be a crucial step for real-time pollen monitoring devices to be developed in the future. The correlation strength between pollen and amplified DNA content could be improved using a sampler that has a lower absorption rate, and a more sensitive technique, such as qPCR.

In this study, changes of Artemisia pollen concentration in Zonguldak atmosphere were monitored during 2015. Pollen collected using Hirst pollen and spore trap, and were counted on full area. Then concentration of pollen was expressed as pollen/m 3 . The concentration was compared with meteorological factors. In 2015, pollen index was 46.6. The peak value was recorded on 9 th July with 6.5 pollen/m 3 . Minimum temperature was found as the most effective meteorological factor (-0.427, p<0.01). The other meteorological factors that effective on pollen concentration were maximum temperature (-0.399, p<0.01), average temperature (-0.393, p<0.01) and air pressure (0.393, p<0.01).