Europe’s forests, particularly in Ukraine, are highly vulnerable to climate change. The maintenance and improvement of forest health are high-priority issues, and various stakeholders have shown an interest in understanding and utilizing ecological interactions between trees and their associated microorganisms. Endophyte microbes can influence the health of trees either by directly interacting with the damaging agents or modulating host responses to infection. In the framework of this work, ten morphotypes of endophytic bacteria from the tissues of unripe acorns of Quercus robur L. were isolated. Based on the results of the sequenced 16S rRNA genes, four species of endophytic bacteria were identified: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus subtilis, Delftia acidovorans, and Lelliottia amnigena. Determining the activity of pectolytic enzymes showed that the isolates B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens could not cause maceration of plant tissues. Screening for these isolates revealed their fungistatic effect against phytopathogenic micromycetes, namely Fusarium tricinctum, Botrytis cinerea, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Inoculation of B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, and their complex in oak leaves, in contrast to phytopathogenic bacteria, contributed to the complete restoration of the epidermis at the sites of damage. The phytopathogenic bacteria Pectobacterium and Pseudomonas caused a 2.0 and 2.2 times increase in polyphenol concentration in the plants, respectively, while the ratio of antioxidant activity to total phenolic content decreased. Inoculation of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtilis isolates into oak leaf tissue were accompanied by a decrease in the total pool of phenolic compounds. The ratio of antioxidant activity to total phenolic content increased. This indicates a qualitative improvement in the overall balance of the oak leaf antioxidant system induced by potential PGPB. Thus, endophytic bacteria of the genus Bacillus isolated from the internal tissues of unripe oak acorns have the ability of growth biocontrol and spread of phytopathogens, indicating their promise for use as biopesticides.

The article considers the effect of chitosans of different origin, molecular weight, and degree of deacetylation on the dynamics of phenolic substances in the leaves of Fragaria ananassa Duch. These substances potentially act as agents in plant responses to biotic stresses. We showed that the...

The purpose of the research was to study the effect of the quercetin-Ferrum complex on the synthesis of plastid pigments and secondary metabolites in berry crops. In the research, biotechnological, physiological, biochemical and statistical methods were used. The ability of quercetin, which is...

The study is dedicated to the investigation of the chitosan influence of diverse origin, molecular mass and deacetylation degree on the dynamics of both garden strawberries' phylloplane and rhizosphere aspectual composition. It was defined that Chitosans carry a varied impact on the fungal groups of both Fragaria ananassa phylloplanes' and rhizospheres', as evidenced by the dynamics of their species composition, changes in the population level and occurrence frequency. Namely, the chitosan forms under investigation had a stimulant effect on both micromycetes' and phylloplanes' dominant genus, causing an increase in strawberry leaves' population level after treatment. Nevertheless, the epiphytic fungi species structure of garden strawberry differed 48 hours after treatment with low molecular weight (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) chitosan solutions. It has been demonstrated that the rhizosphere mycobiota possesses different sensitivity to LMW and HMW solutions. The greatest inhibitory effect of chitosan forms was observed on penicillium, the soil CFU number of which was less compared to the control one. Thus, the Penicillium sp. amount was 47.4 thousand CFU/g of soil before treatment, becoming 4.9 and 6.3 thousand CFU/g of soil after the low molecular weight chitosan application — 12 and 48 hours after application, accordingly. On the contrary, an increase in abundance in all application variants was observed for the Fusarium genus. This can be explained by the fact that Fusarium genus fungi in the soil are predominantly in the form of mycelium hyphae, being more resistant to chitosan. As a matter of record both incubation time and the environment into which chitosan is put are no less important for its effectiveness except for physiological activity and functional properties, depending on molecular weight.

Elaboration of effective and reliable assessment methods for genetic polymorphism of varieties, hybrids and initial forms with using molecular markers is an important tool in selection process, planting material certification and copyright protection. Estimation of genetic polymorphism for strawberry varieties of Ukrainian and worldwide selection with SSR-analysis was carried out in the research. Awareness of 12 SSR-loci was analyzed from scientific sources. 9 loci which made it possible to obtain explicit and reproducible alleles were selected for further analysis of strawberry varieties. 3 microsatellite loci weren’t used due to the presence of diffuse bands and problems with interpretation of alleles with large number. Totally 69 alleles were detected in strawberry varieties using 9 selected loci. Molecular size of alleles was 278-76 bp. The largest amount of alleles was obtained for amplification EFMvi136 locus (11 alleles). The smallest amount for EMFv029 locus (4 alleles). The highest level of heterozygosity was found for EMFvi108 locus (43.2 %). The lowest level for UDF002 locus (10.1 %). The range of genetic distances between varieties ranging from 0.059 (between Holosiivska rannia – Sweet Ann) to 0.65 (between Sweet Ann – Senga Sengana and Holosiivska rannia - Elsanta). Indices of genetic identity ranging from 0.521 to 0.942 between the same varieties. A cluster analysis was carried out and the dendrogram of genetic affinity was constructed by UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean). According to the SSR analysis, the varieties are clearly divided into two separate clusters. The first cluster included varieties of Ukrainian and American origin. The closest pairs by genetic distances were Holosiivska rannia – Sweet Ann (d=0.059), Berehynia – Fakel (d=0.139), Albion – Alina (d=0.208). The second cluster included varieties of Italian, Holland and German origin: Clery – Alba (d=0.245) and Elsanta – Senga Sengana (d=0.263). The results of 9-SSR analysis allowed a revealing polymorphism by all molecular-genetic markers. The level of polymorphism varied depending on SSR-marker. Genetic identification system of strawberry varieties was proposed based on input data. Key words: Ukrainian Roztochya, multidimensional typology, mathematical modeling, Lemnetea. Розробка ефективних і надійних методів оцінки генетичного поліморфізму сортів, гібридів та вихідних форм з використанням молекулярних маркерів є важливим інструментом в селекційному процесі, сертифікації посадкового матеріалу та захисті авторських прав. У роботі проведено оцінку генетичного поліморфізму сортів суниці садової української та зарубіжної селекції на основі SSR-аналізу. Проаналізовано рівень інформативності 12 SSR-локусів з наукових джерел. Для подальшого аналізу сортів суниці садової відібрано 9 локусів які уможливлювали отримання чітких та відтворних алелів. Три мікросателітні локуси не використовували для подальшої роботи внаслідок наявності дифузних смуг та складнощів інтерпретування великої кількості алелів. Сумарно за використання обраних 9-ти локусів у досліджених сортів виявлено 69 алелів, молекулярний розмір яких становив 278–76 п.н. Найбільшу кількість алелів для цього типу маркерів було отримано за ампліфікації локусу EFMvi136 (11 алелів), найменшу за локусами EMFv029 (4 алелі). Встановлено, що найвищий рівень наявної гетерозиготності зафіксовано за локусом EMFvi108 (43,2 %), найнижчий за локусом UDF002 (10,1 %). Показано, що розмах генетичних дистанцій між дослідженими сортами коливається від 0,059 (між сортами Голосіївська рання – Світ Енн) до 0,65 (між сортами Світ Енн і Зенга-Зенгана та Голосіївська рання і Ельсанта), а індексів генетичної ідентичності від 0,521 до 0,942 між цими ж сортами. Проведено кластерний аналіз і побудовано дендрограму генетичної спорідненості за використання незваженого парно-групового методу. За отриманими даними SSR-аналізу досліджені сорти чітко розділяються на два окремих кластери. До першого входять сорти суниці української та американської селекції. За генетичними дистанціями найближчими виявилися пари сортів: Голосіївська рання – Світ Енн (d=0,059), Берегиня – Факел (d=0,139) та Альбіон – Аліна (d=0,208). До другого кластеру входили сорти італійської, голландської та німецької селекції: Клері – Альба (d=0,245) та Ельсанта – Зенга-Зенгана (d=0,263)....