Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 12 1 2013 03 15 18 28 Ali Soleimani Research Institute of Physiology and Biotechnology of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran Sonia Morales Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain AND Proteomic Research Service, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, Spain Jose Carlos Jimenez-Lopez Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain Antonio Jesús Castro Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain María Isabel Rodríguez-García Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain Juan de Dios Alché Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain 2015 10 16 Molecular evidence on the heterogeneity present in the Ole e 1 allergen of the olive pollen is emerging. Such polymorphism is dependent on the cultivar origin of pollen, which also determines wide differences in the expression of this protein. Determination of biochemical and molecular characteristics of Ole e 1 pollen allergen in two Iranian olive cultivars, namely 'Rowghani' and 'Zard' is necessary to assess their allergenicity potential. SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting analysis of pollen extracts showed that both cultivars present high and low expression of Ole e 1, respectively. These protein levels correlated with similarly different levels of transcripts, as determined by RT-PCR. Two-dimensional protein profiles also showed conspicuous differences in the distribution and the level of expression of those spots reacting to an anti-Ole e 1 antibody. Bioinformatic analysis of four Ole e 1 sequences corresponding to 'Rowghani' and two sequences for 'Zard', showed numerous heterogeneities when compared with those Ole e 1 and Ole e 1-like sequences present in databases. Nucleotide substitutions resulted in many cases in changes over the predicted amino acid sequences. A cladistic analysis of the sequences showed Iranian entries in a central position between West-European sequences, and Ole e 1-like sequences from other Oleaceae species. Moreover, amino acid changes affected key epitopes of the protein involved in the recognition of the protein by the human immune system. Putative implications of polymorphism in both the biological role and the allergic reactivity of Ole e 1 are discussed. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/538 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/538/464