Morphological Changes in Allergenic Pollen as a Bioindicator

Abstract

Since the anther opens and the pollen grains travel in the atmosphere, they can come into contact with solid and gaseous particles, and the exine can become contaminated with various adherent particles. Pollen and solid particles are among the most common triggers of bronchial asthma. Increased allergenicity of pollen grains will be determined by chemical reactions between pollutants and pollen, as well as non-specific modulation of the mechanisms of synthesis of many proteins, lipids and enzymes in response to environmental stress due to urbanization and climate change. This situation seriously complicates the identification of pollen to a taxon during traditional monitoring and further complicates the calculation and interpretation of the results obtained during research and automatic determination. To classify tetramorphic pollen from aerobiological samples and explain the mechanism of the identified changes. Determination of mutagenic contamination and a method for integral assessment of pollen viability and damage under a light microscope. Pollen from aerobiological samples was examined under a scanning electron microscope (Hitachi): a high-power imaging technique that uses electron beams to create detailed images of the ultrastructure of pollen grains. Unidentified, tetramorphic pollen from aerobiological samples from sites with varying degrees of contamination can be conditionally classified into 4 types: 1) shapeless lumps of sporopollenin with various outgrowths, cracks and cavities that arose during pollen ontogenesis; 2) atypical ornamentation of sculpture, such as large tubercles - swellings with a smooth surface; 3) atypical form, but with partially preserved sculpture, where in places species-specific features can be identified and pollen can be identified to a taxon; 4) conglomerates. The study of the vitality (viability) and damage of the cocksfoot pollen under a light microscope from observation points with different anthropogenic loads showed the dependence of these indicators on the level of pollutants: with their increase, viability decreases, although it remains quite high. The data obtained are important for assessing allergenic pollen as a bioindicator of environmental changes. An integrated assessment of the enzymatic activity of pollen and the degree of its damage can be used for the purposes of bioecological monitoring.