Cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic for plant metabolic processes even in low concentration due to higher retention rates, longer half-life and non-biodegradable nature. The current study was designed to assess the bioremediation potential of Cd tolerant PGPR, Serratia sp. CP-13 together with two differentially Cd tolerant maize cultivars (MMRI-Yellow, Sahiwal-2002) selected amongst ten cultivars after screening. The maize cultivars were grown under different Cd treatments (0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 µM) in Petri plates both with and without Serratia sp. CP-13 inoculation. Treated plants were analyzed for their biomass accumulation, chlorophylls, carotenoids, proline, anthocyanin, protein, malondialdehyde (MDA), H₂O₂ as well as for antioxidants (POD, SOD, CAT) and mineral elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, K, Fe, Na, Cd). The maize cultivar MMRI-Yellow (tolerant) and Sahiwal-2002 (sensitive) exhibited significant reduction in leaf area, nutrient contents, plant biomass, activity of antioxidants, total proteins, photosynthetic pigments as well as flavonoids with increased production of H₂O₂, proline, MDA and relative membrane permeability (RMP) under Cd stress. However, this reduction was cultivar specific and recorded higher in cv. Sahiwal-2002 as compared to MMRI-Yellow. Application of Serratia sp. CP-13 significantly augmented plant biomass, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidative machinery, as well as flavonoids and proline while diminishing H₂O_2, RMP MDA production even under Cd stress in studied cultivars. Furthermore, CP-13 inoculation assisted the Cd stressed plants to sustain an optimal level of essential nutrients (Ca, Mg, Zn, K, Fe) except for Na and Cd which responded antagonistically. It was inferred that both inoculated maize cultivars exhibited better health and metabolism but substantial Cd tolerance was acquired by the sensitive cv. Sahiwal-2002 than the tolerant cv. MMRI-Yellow under applied Cd regimes. Furthermore, studied maize cultivars depicted maximum Cd tolerance in order of 30 < 24 < 18 < 12 < 6 < 0 µM Cd treatments under Serratia sp. CP-13 inoculation. Findings of current work highlighted the importance of Serratia sp. CP-13 and its inoculation impact on morpho-physio-biochemical attributes of maize growth under Cd dominant environment, which is likely an addition towards efficient approaches for bacterially-assisted Cd bioremediation and minimal Cd retention in edible plant parts.

由于较高的保留率，较长的半衰期和不可生物降解的性质，即使在低浓度下，镉（Cd）对植物的代谢过程也具有高毒性。本研究旨在评估耐Cd的PGPR，沙雷氏菌（Serratia sp。）的生物修复潜力。在筛选后，从十个品种中选择了CP-13和两个耐Cd差异性玉米品种（MMRI-Yellow，Sahiwal-2002）。玉米品种在有和没有沙雷氏菌的陪替氏平板中在不同的镉处理下（0、6、12、18、24、30 µM）生长。CP-13接种。分析处理过的植物的生物量积累，叶绿素，类胡萝卜素，脯氨酸，花色苷，蛋白质，丙二醛（MDA），H ₂ O ₂以及抗氧化剂（POD，SOD，CAT）和矿物质（Ca，Mg，Zn，K，Fe，Na，Cd）。玉米品种MMRI-Yellow（耐性）和Sahiwal-2002（敏感）的叶面积，养分含量，植物生物量，抗氧化剂活性，总蛋白，光合色素以及类黄酮的产量显着降低，而H ₂ O ₂产量增加，镉，脯氨酸，丙二醛（MDA）和相对膜通透性（RMP）。但是，这种降低是特定品种的，在CV中记录得更高。Sahiwal-2002与MMRI-Yellow相比。沙雷氏菌的应用 CP-13显着增强了植物生物量，光合色素，抗氧化机制以及类黄酮和脯氨酸，同时减少了H ₂ O_2，研究品种即使在镉胁迫下RMP MDA的产生。此外，CP-13接种可帮助Cd胁迫的植物维持最佳水平的必需营养素（Ca，Mg，Zn，K，Fe），但Na和Cd产生拮抗作用。可以推断，两种接种的玉米品种都表现出更好的健康和新陈代谢，但是敏感的简历获得了对镉的耐受性。Sahiwal-2002比宽容的简历。应用Cd体制下的MMRI-黄色。此外，研究的玉米品种在Serratia sp。下对Cd的最大耐受性为30 <24 <18 <12 <6 <0 µM Cd处理。CP-13接种。当前工作的结果突出了沙雷氏菌的重要性sp。CP-13及其接种对Cd主导环境下玉米生长的形态生理生化特性的影响，这可能是细菌辅助Cd生物修复和可食植物部分中Cd保留量最小的有效方法的补充。