Prior to
acetolysis, the mutilated insects were washed with distilled water to eliminate any pollen grains that could be present on the external part of the body, so as not to overestimate the results.
We demonstrated the usefulness of the precipitin-inhibition assay using mannooligosaccharides obtained from mannan by
acetolysis for the structural identification of epitopes, 10),11) and found that mannohexaoses, Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Mancd-2Man and Man[alpha]1-3Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Man[alpha]1-2Man, are the strongest epitopes for the C.
In the laboratory, subsamples representing 0.5-1.0 cm of sediment depth were prepared for pollen analysis using standard KOH, HF, and
acetolysis procedures (Berglund and Ralska-Jasiewiczowa 1986).
To obtain a pure sample of spores, the flowers were oxidized through
acetolysis (Elmqvist et al.
Laboratory processing included sieving to remove coarse organics (>0.25 mm), caustic soda,
acetolysis, and hydrofluoric acid (Faegri and Iversen, 1975; Nichols, 1975), with extended boiling times because of the elevation of the laboratory.
Sediment was treated for pollen analysis with KOH, HCl, HE and
acetolysis solution, as described in Faegri et al.
After decanting supernatant, the sediment was subjected to
acetolysis (Erdtman, 1960) with a 9:1 ratio of acetic anhydride to conc.
Erdtman G (1960) The
acetolysis method, a revised description.
To identify the plant family, genus or species on which the insects were feeding when captured, the pollen grains contained in their intestines were examined using the Erdtman
acetolysis process (Erdtman, 1960).
The analysis was based on the principle that microscopic elements were concentrated by centrifuging the honey dissolved in water, examining the sediments and evaluating them under the microscope after
acetolysis. The method followed for pollen analysis was described by Louveaux et al.