Effect of Pseudomonas rhodesiae GRC140 on Cucumis sativus L. seedlings with and without Cadmium

Pseudomonas rhodesiae GRC140 is an endophytic bacterium isolated from the roots of Typha latifolia collected in a Cd-contaminated site. This bacterium has biochemical abilities similar to those exerted by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Moreover, it has been shown that P. rhodesiae GRC140 improves the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in the absence and presence of Cd. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of P. rhodesiae GRC140 in Cucumis sativus L. growing in nutritive medium with and without Cd. For this, cucumber seeds were superficially disinfected and exposed to a suspension of P. rhodesiae GRC140. Inoculated seeds were placed in a nutritive medium with and without Cd, then were incubated at 28 oC for eight days. After incubation, seedlings were recovered and determined the length of the primary root, the number of roots per plant, hypocotyl length, and the fresh weight. The results showed that P. rhodesiae GRC140 negatively affects the growth of C. sativus L. seedlings grown in the absence of Cd. On the other hand, in Cd-exposed seedlings, P. rhodesiae GRC140 improves the growth of C. sativus L. These results suggest that P. rhodesiae GRC140 decreases the deleterious effect of Cd in C. sativus L.