ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY OF POLLEN ALLERGENS

The release of pollen into the air is a normal part of the sexual cycl e in many wind-pollinated plants. Unfortunately, however, certain poll en grains contain specific proteins or glycoproteins that can result i n the familiar debilitating symptoms of hayfever and asthma in humans. This, together with the dramatic increase in the incidence of allergi c disease in recent years, has led to increasing public concern about allergenic pollen. It is important to examine the distribution of poll en in the air, the particular molecular features of the allergens, and , perhaps most intriguingly, what role these highly interactive molecu les play in pollen growth and development.