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Pollen attachment in common materials

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Abstract

Pollen, as a microscopic element, has an important role in forensic investigation and in other scientific disciplines; its detection in different materials or objects can help to throw light on a detail which is invisible to the naked eye. For this reason, the diverse types of adhesion of pollen of five anemophilous taxa and one entomophilous on common materials have been investigated. The botanical species used are: Asphodelus aestivus, Cupressus sempervirens, Olea europaea, Pinus halepensis, Pistacia lentiscus, and Quercus ilex. The materials used are: cotton, denim, latex, leather, newspaper, paper, and polyester textile. Samples of materials with each type of imprinted pollen are thrown down from a height, then transported by car, and finally are rinsed in water simulating the evidence of a direct or indirect contact with flowers, a natural contamination by air of objects and clothes, or a dumping of a body followed by a soaking in fresh water. This research underlines the importance of pollen evidence in forensic investigations, but also exposes the behaviour of anemophilous pollen on materials. Pollen examined present different ways of attaching, depending on the species and/or types of material; although the adhesion is strongest within the fabric materials, Cupressus have the high value particularly on smooth ones. The pollen of Cupressus, Olea, and Pistacia show a significant adhesion, followed by Quercus, Pinus and, finally, the entomophilous Asphodelus which reveals a very low power of adhesion. The total concentration of pollen count after rinsed in water is of 34,690 grains in the whole surface of 126 cm2 of the materials examined. An average of 275 pollen grains/cm2 indicate that a high number of allergenic pollen still remain fixed on materials; in the case of the adhesion on clothes, it can being cause of aggravation of allergies and asthma in people who suffering from these ailments.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to extend their gratitude to the grant holders Gloria Florit and José Luis Frontera for their collaboration during the experiment and the Universitat de les Illes Balears, especially the Scientific Technical Services. They would also like to thank the reviewer for useful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Dep. to Biologia – Botànica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, c/Valldemossa, km. 7,5, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Marzia Boi

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  1. Marzia Boi
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Correspondence to Marzia Boi.

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Boi, M. Pollen attachment in common materials. Aerobiologia 31, 261–270 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9362-2

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