Análisis de la dimensión fractal del género Quercus en el sur de Italia

En estudios anteriores propusimos un nuevo método para el estudio del género Quercus (Musarella et al., 2013), baseado en la dimensión fractal (DF). En este trabajo analizamos la DF del género Quercus en el sur de Italia, para ello utilizamos hojas de árboles pertenecientes a Q. robur subsp. brutia, Q. cerris, Q. congesta, Q. crenata, Q. ilex, Q. suber, Q. virginiana. De cada árbol se toman hojas de cada uno de los puntos cardinales para complejiada de la estructura morfológica de las hojas. Este análisis extrae información sobre los caracteres fenotípicos de las hojas utilizadas, tales como el número y morfologia de los nervios, ángulos nervios secundarios con principal, contorno de hojas, aspecto reticulado de la hoja etc. En nuestro análisis, no se han detectado diferencias significativas entre la DF en cada una de la orientaciones y la DF global para cada una de las especies. En este trabajo corroboramos estudios anteriores realizados por los autores, en los que se proponía una DF < 1,6 para Quercus esclerófilos y DF entre dos especies sea cero o su cociente sea uno, el grado de parentesco entre las dos especies es del 100%; DFA - DFB = 0; DFA/DFB = 1, la especie Ay B son iguales; por ello cuanto menor es la diferencia o bien cuanto más se acerque el cociente a 1, mayor es la semejanza entre las especies. Si este cociente tiene un valor alejado de 1 como ocurre entre vfvi/vfsu>2, las especies Q. virginiana y Q. suber están muy distantes entre sí. Además, la realización del Test de Rango Múltiple, que es un procedimiento de comparación para determinar cuáles medias son significativamente diferentes unas de otras, confirma los resultados obtenidos de la forma anteriormente expuesta. Conto et al. (2007) ponen de manifiesto el origen hibridógeno de Q. crenata, y según el análisis molecular existe una mayor similitud genética entre Q. crenata y Q. cerris, que entre Q. crenata y Q. suber. Los DF de Q. crenata 1,868; Q. cerris 1,677 y Q. suber 0,932; siendo DFQsu 0,745 y DFQsu = 1,8, lo que significa que existe gran diferencia fenotípica (genética) entre los parentales, se presenta una mayor semejanza entre Q. crenata y Q. cerris que entre Q. crenata y Q. suber, ya que la diferencia DFQcr-DFQce = 0,191 y DFQcr/DFQce = 1,1, por lo que tienen un fuerte grado de semejanza, mientras que DFQcr-DFQsu = 0,936 y DFQcr/DFQsu > 2, lo que pone de manifiesto las fuertes diferencias fenotípicas entre el híbrido y el parental.

Allergenic profile of Quercus rotundifolia pollen in Alentejo, Portugal

Background and Aim: Grasses and olive are the most relevant allergenic species in the Alentejo region. However, aggravation of allergic symptoms has been reported in the early spring, before grass and olive pollen seasons. Quercus pollen is the most abundant pollen type in the early spring in Alentejo, nonetheless its allergen profile has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this work was to characterize the allergen profile of pollen from Quercus rotundifolia among the most representative species showing pollination in April, prior to the main pollen season in Alentejo. Methods: Pollen from Quercus rotundifolia, Olea europaea and Dactylis glomerata was extracted with ammonium bicarbonate buffer, lyophilized and stored at -80ºC until analysis. Extract from Quercus ilex pollen was kindly offered by Bial. Protein content was determined by the Bradford method. SDS-PAGE followed by western blot, using allergic patient sera (obtained from the Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora – HESE), were performed to evaluate the allergen profile of the pollen. Sensitization and cross-reactivity was assessed by solid phase immunoblot. Results: Most of the patient evidenced sensitization to pollen extracts of Q. rotundifolia. Protein profile of Q. rotundifolia has shown several bands in the Mr 10-90 kDa, mostly overlapping with Q. ilex. Western blot have shown several immunoreactive bands. Immunoreactive bands were also observed in the protein profile according to the pI in the range 4.0-6.1. Cross-reactivity between Q. rotundifolia with O. europaea and D. glomerata was found. Conclusion: These results evidenced allergens found in Q. rotundifolia pollen. It also shows that protein profile of Q. rotundifolia and Q. ilex are mostly alike suggesting that similarities in allergen profile are expected. Moreover, cross–reactivity between Q. rotundifolia and highly allergenic species such as O. europaea and D. glomerata was found which probably contributes to the aggravation of pollinosis in the early spring. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by FEDER through the “Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade – COMPETE” (Strategic projects of ICAAM and ICT 2013-2015). We also aknowledge Bial-Aristegui for supplying pollen and extract samples of Q. ilex.

Perfil em alergénios do pólen de Quercus rotundifólia

Background and Aim: Grasses and olive are the most relevant allergenic species in the Alentejo region. However, aggravation of allergic symptoms has been reported in the early spring, before grass and olive pollen seasons. Quercus pollen is the most abundant pollen type in the early spring in Alentejo, nonetheless its allergen profile has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this work was to characterize the allergen profile of pollen from Quercus rotundifolia the most representative species showing pollination in April, prior to the main pollen season in Alentejo. Methods: Pollen from Quercus rotundifolia, Olea europaea and Dactylis glomerata was extracted with ammonium bicarbonate buffer, lyophilized and stored at -80ºC until analysis. Extract from Quercus ilex pollen was kindly offered by Bial. Protein content was determined by the Bradford method. SDS-PAGE followed by western blot, using allergic patient sera (obtained from the Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora – HESE), were performed to evaluate the allergen profile of the pollen. Results: Protein profile of Q. rotundifolia has shown several bands in the Mr 10-90 kDa, mostly overlapping with Q. ilex. Western blot have shown several immunoreactive bands. Protein profile according to the pI showed immunoreactive bands in the pI range 4.0-6.1. Cross-reactivity of Q. rotundifolia with O. europaea and D. glomerata was found. Conclusion: These results evidenced allergens found in Q. rotundifolia pollen. It also shows that protein profile of Q. rotundifolia and Q. ilex are mostly alike suggesting that similarities in allergen profile are expected. Moreover, cross–reactivity between Q. rotundifolia and highly allergenic species such as O. europaea and D. glomerata was found which probably contributes for aggravation of pollinosis in the early spring. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by “FEDER - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE”. A special acknowledgment to our colleague Prof. Rui Brandão, deceased, for his dedication to the present work, to the implantation and development of Aerobiology in the University of Évora. We have the honour of dedicating this work to the memory of Prof. Rui Brandão.