Abstract Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) are highly allergenic Asteraceae. They often cause pollen allergies in late summer and fall. While mugwort is native to Europe, ragweed reached Europe as a neophyte from North America about 150 years ago and continued spreading ever since. To understand possible relationships between the spread of ragweed, its abundance in air, and to judge possible health risks for the public, we quantified ragweed DNA in inhalable fine as well as in coarse air particulate matter. Mugwort was chosen for comparison, as it is closely related to ragweed and grows in similar, though mainly not identical, habitats but is native to Germany. The DNA quantification was performed on atmospheric aerosol samples collected over a period of 5 years in central Europe. The DNA concentrations were highest during the characteristic pollination periods but varied greatly between different years. In the inhalable fine particle fraction, ragweed exceeds the mugwort DNA concentration fivefold, while the coarse particle fraction, bearing intact pollen grains, contains more mugwort than ragweed DNA. The higher allergenic potential of ragweed might be linked to the humidity or long-range transport-induced bursting of ragweed pollen into smaller allergenic particles, which may reach the lower airways and cause more intense allergic reactions. Airborne ragweed DNA was detected also outside the local pollination periods, which can be explained by atmospheric long-range transport. Back-trajectory analyses indicate that the air masses containing ragweed DNA during winter had originated in regions with milder climate and large ragweed populations (Southern France, Carpathian Basin).

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空气颗粒物中的致敏菊科：艾蒿和豚草的定量 DNA 分析

摘要 艾蒿 (Artemisia vulgaris) 和豚草 (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) 是菊科植物，具有高致敏性。它们经常在夏末和秋季引起花粉过敏。虽然艾蒿原产于欧洲，但豚草大约在 150 年前从北美传入欧洲，并从那时起继续传播。为了了解豚草的传播与其在空气中的丰度之间可能存在的关系，并判断可能对公众造成的健康风险，我们量化了可吸入细颗粒物和粗空气颗粒物中的豚草 DNA。选择艾蒿进行比较，因为它与豚草密切相关，并且生长在相似但主要不相同的栖息地，但原产于德国。DNA 定量是对在中欧 5 年内收集的大气气溶胶样本进行的。DNA浓度在特征授粉期间最高，但不同年份之间差异很大。在可吸入细颗粒部分，豚草超过艾蒿 DNA 浓度的五倍，而带有完整花粉粒的粗颗粒部分含有比豚草 DNA 多的艾蒿。豚草较高的致敏性可能与湿度或远距离运输引起的豚草花粉爆裂成更小的致敏颗粒有关，这些颗粒可能到达下呼吸道并引起更强烈的过敏反应。在局部授粉期之外也检测到空气传播的豚草 DNA，这可以通过大气远程传输来解释。