1. Wstęp. 2. Liść jako siedlisko mikroorganizmów. 3. Społeczności mikroorganizmów na liściach. 4. Mikrobiom. 5. Pozytywne oddziaływanie mikroorganizmów na rośliny. 6. Negatywne oddziaływanie mikroorganizmów na rośliny. 7. Struktura zbiorowisk mikroorganizmów zasiedlających liście. 8. Techniki badawcze zbiorowisk mikroorganizmów zasiedlających liście. 9. Podsumowanie

Abstract: The leaves of crop plants are colonized by numerous microorganisms which live on leaf surface or penetrate into the tissues, despite nutrient deficiencies and exposure to adverse environmental conditions. Leaf-colonizing microorganisms exhibit a broad range of relationships with the host plant, thus forming a complex interactive ecosystem. The functions of microbial communities and their effects on the host plant have not been fully elucidated to date. Expanding our knowledge in this area can have important practical implications, including more effective pathogen and disease control. Rapidly developing molecular techniques can provide valuable information about the interactions between microbes and the host plants they colonize. The aim of this study was to characterize microorganisms colonizing the leaves of crop plants, and to discuss the benefits and threats related to their presence in this ecological niche.

1. Introduction. 2. Leaf as habitation of microorganisms. 3. Community of microorganisms on the leaves. 4. The microbiome. 5. Positive interaction of microorganisms on plants. 6. Negative interaction of microorganisms on plants. 7. Structure of microorganism communities colonizing leaves. 8. Techniques of study microorganism communities colonizing leaves. 9. Summary