Ceylon leadwort (Plumbago zeylanica) is ornamental plant known for its pharmacological properties arising from the abundant production of various secondary metabolites. It often grows in lead polluted areas. The aim of presented study was to evaluate the survival strategy of P. zeylanica to lead toxicity via photosynthetic apparatus acclimatization. Shoots of P. zeylanica were cultivated on media with different Pb concentrations (0.0, 0.05, and 0.1 g Pb∙l⁻¹). After a four-week culture, the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus of plants was evaluated by Chl a fluorescence measurement, photosynthetic pigment, and Lhcb1, PsbA, PsbO, and RuBisCo protein accumulation, antioxidant enzymes activity, and chloroplast ultrastructure observation. Plants from lower Pb concentration revealed no changes in photosynthetic pigments content and light-harvesting complex (LHCII) size, as well as no limitation on the donor side of Photosystem II Reaction Centre (PSII RC). However, the activity and content of antioxidant enzymes indicated a high risk of limitation on the acceptor side of Photosystem I. In turn, plants from 0.1 g Pb∙l⁻¹ showed a significant decrease in pigments content, LHCII size, the amount of active PSII RC, oxygen-evolving complex activity, and significant remodeling of chloroplast ultrastructure indicated limitation of PSII RC donor side. Obtained results indicate that P. zeylanica plants acclimate to lead toxicity by Pb accumulation in roots and, depending on Pb concentration, by adjusting their photosynthetic apparatus via the activation of alternative (cyclic and pseudocyclic) electron transport pathways.

Symptoms of discoloration and necrosis of the leaves/needles and shoots of plants are an increasingly common phenomenon in nurseries. They necessitate the withdrawal of the affected plants from sale, which has significant economic consequences. In 2010-2011, observations were conducted of the health of shrubs in nurseries of the Małopolska province. Disease symptoms were mostly found in juniper ( Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’), rose (ground-cover rose ‘Star Profusion’), yew ( Taxus × media ‘Hillii’) and highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Patriot’). These species were selected for further study. The affected shrubs represented more than 46% of the population of a given species. Fragments of the diseased organs: the leaves or needles, the base of the shoots, and the roots, were collected from the borderline between healthy and diseased tissue, and used to isolate and identify the microorganisms colonizing the diseased parts. The affected organs were found to be inhabited to the largest extent by the fungus Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl., which accounted for 19.7 to 47.5% of the isolates from the tested species of shrubs. There were also large populations of fungi of the genera: Botrytis (up to 9.82%), Cladosporium (up to 5.66%), Colletotrichum (up to 5.13%), Fusarium (up to 18.38%), Mortierella (up to 7.26%), Pestalotia (up to 5.36%), Rhizoctonia (up to 5.36%), Sclerotinia (up to 6.99%), and Trichoderma (up to 17.09%). The fungus A. alternata , being by far the dominant pathogen, was tested for its pathogenicity for the shoots of the chosen species of shrubs. The test was conducted for 14 days in a chamber with parameters so programmed that they reflected the natural conditions at the height of the growing season. The fungus A. alternata exhibited pathogenicity for all of the tested species of shrubs. Necrosis developed on all the inoculated fragments of shoots. The surface area of necrotic lesions was larger on the shoots of juniper and blueberry.

The article focuses on the problem of the civil service’s dependence on its political superiors in Poland in 1996–2017. It aims to analyse the motivations of politicians responsible for civil service reforms and to assess the impact of these reforms on the effectiveness of the corps’ functioning. The authors conceptualise the problem of politicisation of the civil service by referring to the theory of politicisation adding an extra dimension of political ideas and institutions as an important factor of change in Poland’s public administration system. The article describes the stages of civil service reform in Poland over the last twenty years, taking into account the political context, the most important postulated changes and the associated controversies with reference to the concepts outlined in the theoretical part. The study also comprises a relevant literature review based on a number of sources, including the reports published by the Head of the Civil Service in Poland, international databases (including Quality of Government) and specialist reports with a particular emphasis on research devoted to Central Europe. The findings paint a multi-layered and nuanced picture of the evolution of the Polish civil service and its strong associations with the issue of the so-called “unfinished transformation”. In addition the article confirms that both the instrumentalisation of institutions by the “camp” of political opportunists and their formal, radical reconstruction by the “ideological contrarians” resulting in the centralisation of power around the ruling parties have had a negative effect on the quality of civil service functioning in Poland.

After conducting two-year observations in nurseries in the Małopolska province, Poland, the species of shrubs on which symptoms of discoloration and withering of the leaves/needles and shoots, and sometimes of whole plants, occurred most frequently were selected for further study. The species included juniper ( Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’, rose ( Rosa ‘Star Profusion’), yew ( Taxus × media ‘Hillii’) and highbush blueberry ( Vaccinum corymbosum ‘Patriot’). The predominant fungus isolated from the diseased plants was Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl. A pathogenicity test performed in the laboratory confirmed the pathogenic effects of A. alternata on all of the tested species of shrubs. In 2011-2014, a field experiment was conducted with A. alternata inoculum introduced into the growth substrate. The presence of the pathogen reduced considerably the annual growth of all the shrubs tested. The applied mycorrhizal inocula had an effect on some morphological characteristics of plants, such as height and number of shoots. Moreover, the plants whose roots had been treated with the mycorrhizal inocula and were grown in the substrate inoculated with the pathogen also achieved greater increases in growth in comparison with the plants treated with the pathogen as well as relative to the control. The protective role of mycorrhizal inocula against the damaging effects of the pathogen was evident in all the species of shrubs.

The objective of this study was to investigate the response of the photosynthetic apparatus of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis) to UV-A radiation stress as well as the role of selected secondary metabolites in this process. Plants were subjected to 24 h UV-A treatment. Subsequently, chl a fluorescence and gas exchange were measured in living plants. On the collected material, analyses of the photosynthetic pigments and photosynthetic apparatus proteins content, as well as the contents and activity of selected antioxidants, were performed. Measurements and analyses were carried out immediately after the stress treatment (UV plants) and another 24 h after the termination of UV-A exposure (recovery plants). UV plants showed no changes in the structure and function of their photosynthetic apparatus and increased contents and activities of some antioxidants, which led to efficient CO₂ carboxylation, while, in recovery plants, a disruption of electron flow was observed, resulting in lower photosynthesis efficiency. Our results revealed that D. muscipula plants underwent two phases of adjustment to UV-A radiation. The first was a regulatory phase related to the exploitation of available mechanisms to prevent the over-reduction of PSII RC. In addition, UV plants increased the accumulation of plumbagin as a potential component of a protective mechanism against the disruption of redox homeostasis. The second was an acclimatization phase initiated after the running down of the regulatory process and decrease in photosynthesis efficiency.