Moshynets O. The structure of the plant-microbial associations in the phytosphere of some plants belonging to the Brassica, Phyllostachys and Fargesia genera

The thesis is devoted to the study of the structural features of plant-bacterial associations which occur in the phytosphere of both rapeseed Brassica napus L. and bamboo plants belonging to the Phyllostachys and Fargesia genera, respectively. The PET (polyethylene terephtalate) plastic film sampling method was developed for the comprehensive study of the phytosphere of these model plants. The PET film sampling method was initially proposed as a development of Cholodny's buried slide method for the in situ examination of microbial and plant-microbial associations in soil. PET films proved to be an adequate substrate, allowing microorganisms to overgrow the surface, and retain plant-microbial associations; this method could also be combined with a battery of other techniques including microscopy and tomography, as well as molecular analyses. The phytosphere of B. napus L. as a niche for the model rhizosphere bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25, was studied using both the PET film sampling method and classical techniques.