Chapter5 2 5. Application of Genomic Data for PCR Screening of Bet v 1 Conserved Sequence in Clinically Relevant Plant Species

Abstract Bet v 1 is a highly immunogenic protein, which is the main cause of sensitivity to birch pollen and is described as the main birch allergen. Despite the structural similarity, Bet v 1 homologs show different properties and immunoreactivity. Here, the bioinformatic algorithms were applied for known Bet v 1 homologous nucleic acids sequences to find homology and conserved regions. Genomic sequences of PR proteins of two different fruit species, which allergens belong to PR proteins of the same type as Bet v 1, were selected to design degenerate primers. Subsequently, screening of the presence of Bet v 1 conserved genomic sequence was performed in 45 clinically relevant plant species.