False-colour scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of two pollen grains of cocksfoot grass, Dactylis glomerata, a major cause of hay fever (allergic rhin

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False-colour scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of two pollen grains of cocksfoot grass, Dactylis glomerata, a major cause of hay fever (allergic rhinitis). The pit on the right-hand grain is the germination pore, out which the pollen tube grows. Cocksfoot pollen is a wind-dispersed summer pollen. Hay fever sufferers produce a sensitising antibody, immunoglobin E (IgE), which attaches to cells in the nose & eyes. It reacts with inhaled pollen, causing the release of various chemicals including histamine. Histamine causes the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, & throat to swell & become inflamed, bringing on the symptoms of hay fever. Magnification: x570 at size. JBU colouring: green & yellow. BW original is B786/073.

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Size: 4370px × 4129px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: allergic, botany, cocksfoot, colouring, dactylis, fever, germinating, glomerata, grass, hay, hayfever, jbu, nature, plant, plants, pollen, pollinosis, pore, reproduction, reproductive, rhinitis