article · Microorganisms
Mining operations often leave behind soils severely contaminated with heavy metals, preventing vegetation from taking root. Researchers isolated six heavy metal-tolerant rhizobacterial strains from abandoned mining sites around Oujda, Morocco, to assess their ability to support the native legume Sulla spinosissima. In controlled conditions, the bacterium Rhodococcus qingshengii LMR340 substantially increased plant biomass by 39 to 83 percent, boosted photosynthetic pigments, and stimulated antioxidant enzymes. When tested in multi-polluted mine soil, uninoculated plants completely failed to grow. However, five of the six strains successfully enabled plant survival and development in this hostile substrate. The top-performing strain, Pseudarthrobacter oxydans LMR291, proved especially effective, highlighting the capacity of native beneficial microbes to assist plant establishment in degraded environments.
Abandoned mine sites frequently carry toxic metal concentrations that strip land of plant life and risk spreading contaminants. Utilising native bacteria that naturally tolerate extreme soil conditions allows pioneer vegetation to survive in sterile or toxic ground. This biological strategy provides an eco-friendly path to re-establish green cover, stabilize polluted soils, and gradually restore degraded industrial landscapes.
The findings point towards the development of microbial biofertilisers or biostimulants tailored for land reclamation and environmental remediation companies. Practitioners involved in mine rehabilitation and phytostabilisation projects could deploy strains such as Pseudarthrobacter oxydans LMR291 alongside native legumes. The work remains at an experimental stage, having demonstrated success in laboratory and soil pot trials without yet reporting large-scale field validation.
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The potential of rhizobacteria in assisting plants used in the phytostabilization or re-vegetation of soils contaminated by heavy metals is gaining interest all around the world. In this context, six rhizobacterial strains isolated from highly heavy metal-contaminated soils situated in abandoned mining sites around the Oujda region (Morocco) were tested with Sulla spinosissima (L.), a native leguminous plant expanding in this area. The strains used were multi-resistant to heavy metals and possessed multiple plant growth-promoting traits. Potential beneficial effects of the strains were also evaluated in planta by measuring various growth and physiological parameters of inoculated Sulla plants grown in sterilized sand. Inoculation with the Rhodococcus qingshengii strain LMR340 boosted plant biomass (39% to 83% increase compared to uninoculated plants), chlorophyll and carotenoid content (up to 29%), and antioxidant enzyme activities (15% to 80% increase). Based on these interesting findings, selected strains were inoculated into plants growing in a heavy metal, multi-polluted, and poor soil. Under these conditions, non-inoculated plants and those inoculated with the strain LMR250 were unable to grow, while the other five bacterial inoculants restored plant growth. The best performing strain, Pseudarthrobacter oxydans LMR291, could be considered as a good biofertilizer and/or biostimulant candidate to be used for promoting the growth of selected plants in re-vegetation and/or phytostabilization programs of degraded and contaminated soils.
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DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10050838
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