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Con A differentiates among grass pollens by binding specifically to wall glycoproteins and carbohydrates

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Abstract

AIRBORNE grass pollens are a major cause of hayfever. The allergens involved are mostly proteins and glycoproteins1,2, which are stored in pollen walls3 and rapidly released on moistening and which seem to play a recognition role in pollen/stigma interactions4. The capacity of certain plant lectins to bind specific carbohydrates and glycoproteins5 and form precipitates with them in double diffusion tests6,7 indicates a means of investigating these substances in pollen. We report here how concanavalin A (con A), the lectin from jack beans, Canavalia ensiformis, differentiates among grasses by specifically precipitating wall-held materials from pollens mainly of nonfestucoid species. Furthermore, pollen of corn (Zea mays) and its closest relatives is easily distinguishable from that of other grasses by its characteristic reactions with con A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University,

    L. WATSON

  2. School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052

    R. B. KNOX

  3. Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601

    E. H. CREASER

Authors
  1. L. WATSON
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  2. R. B. KNOX
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  3. E. H. CREASER
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WATSON, L., KNOX, R. & CREASER, E. Con A differentiates among grass pollens by binding specifically to wall glycoproteins and carbohydrates. Nature 249, 574–576 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249574a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249574a0

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