Plant responses to leaf-mining insects are still poorly studied, especially in woody species. Robinia pseudoacacia is widely cultivated in Ukraine, where it is not native. There, the trees are facing increasing damage from the likewise introduced leaf miner species Parectopa robiniel...

Gregarines are usually classified as parasites, but recent studies suggest that they should be viewed on a parasitism-mutualism spectrum and may even be seen as part of the gut microbiota of host insects. As such, they may also impact the consumption of their hosts and/or be involved in the diges...

Rhamnolipids (RLs), glycolipids biosynthesized by the Pseudomonas and Burkholderia genera, are known to display various activities against a wide range of pathogens. Most previous studies on RLs focused on their direct antimicrobial activity, while only a few reports described t...

Plant monocultures growing for extended periods face severe losses of productivity. This phenomenon, known as 'yield decline', is often caused by the accumulation of above- and below-ground plant antagonists. The effectiveness of plant defences against antagonists might help explain differences i...

The increased positive impact of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning over time is often attributed to the gradual accumulation of mutualists and dilution of antagonists in diverse plant communities. While increased plant diversity alters traits related to resource acquisition, it remains unc...

Background: Grafting with the dwarf rootstock is an efficient method to control the plant height in fruit production. However, the molecular mechanism is still unclear. Our previous study showed that the plants with Prunus mume rootstock exhibit a considerable reduction in plant height, internode...