Characterization of plant growth-promoting traits of Enterobacter sp. and its ability to promote cadmium/lead accumulation in Centella asiatica L.

In the present study, we characterized the plant growth-promoting traits of Enterobacter sp. FM-1 (FM-1) and investigated its ability to promote growth and increase IAA, P, and Fe concentrations as well as Cd and Pb accumulation in Centella asiatica L. (C. asiatica L.) in upstream area (UA) soil and downstream area (DA) soil that we collected from Siding mine. The results demonstrated that FM-1 secreted IAA, produced siderophores, and had P-solubilization ability even under Cd exposure. IAA secretion reached a maximum of 108.3 ± 1.3 mg L−1 under Cd exposure at 25 mg L−1. Siderophore production reached a maximum of 0.94 ± 0.01 under Cd exposure at 50 mg L−1. Pot experiments indicated that FM-1 successfully colonized the roots of C. asiatica L. In both soils, inoculation with FM-1 decreased the pH in rhizosphere soil and increased the bioavailability of both Cd and Pb. In addition, inoculation with FM-1 increased the IAA, P, and Fe concentrations and simultaneously promoted both Cd and Pb accumulation in C. asiatica L. The Cd and Pb concentrations in leaves increased 1.73- and 1.07-fold in the UA soil and 1.25- and 1.11-fold in the DA soil, respectively. Thus, the Cd-resistant strain FM-1 presented excellent PGP traits and could facilitate Cd and Pb phytoremediation by C. asiatica L.