BACKGROUND:Excessive metals in the soil have become one of the most significant environmental problems. Phytoremediation has received considerable attention as a method for restoring the contaminated soils. The microbes having remarkable metal tolerance and plant growth-promoting abilities could also play a significant role in remediation of metal-contaminated soils, because bioaugmentation with such microbes could promote phytoextraction of metals. Therefore, the present study was focused on evaluating the phytoextraction of heavy metals (Co, Pb and Zn) in Helianthus annuus (sunflower) induced by bioaugmentation of a phosphate solubilizing bacterium. METHODS AND RESULTS: A phosphate solubilizing bacterium was isolated from metal-contaminated soils based on the greater halo size (>3 mm) with solid NBRIP agar medium containing 10 g glucose, 5 g Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 , 5 g MgCl 2 ⋅6H 2 O, 0.25 g MgSO 4 .7H 2 O, 0.2 g KCl, 0.1 g (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 in 1 L distilled water. Isolated bacterial strain

A bacterial strain with the potential ability to solubilize heavy metals was isolated from heavy metal contaminated soils collected from abandoned mines of Boryeong area in South Korea. The bacterial strain with the highest degree of metal resistance was shown to have close proximity with Shewanella xiamenensis FJ589031, according to 16S rRNA sequence analysis, and selected for investigating the mobilization of metals in soil or plant by the strain. The strain was found to be capable of solubilizing metals both in the absence and in the presence of metals (Co, Pb and Cd). Metal mobilization potential of the strain was assessed in a batch experiment and the results showed that inoculation could increase the concentrations of water soluble Co, Pb and Cd by 48, 34 and 20% respectively, compared with those of non-inoculated soils. Bacterial-assisted growth promotion and metal uptake in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was evaluated in a pot experiment. In comparison with non-inoculated seedlings, the inoculation led to increase the growth of H. annuus by 24, 18 and 16% respectively in Co, Pb and Cd contaminated soils. Moreover, enhanced accumulation of Co, Pb and Cd in the shoot and root systems was observed in inoculated plants, where metal translocation from root to the above-ground tissues was also found to be enhanced by the strain. Plant growth promotion and metal mobilizing potential of the strain suggest that the strain could effectively be employed in enhancing phytoextraction of Co, Pb and Cd from contaminated soils.