Abstract
Cadmium stress is a barrier to crop production, yield, quality, and sustainable agriculture. In the current study, we investigated the characteristics of bacterial strain Pseudomonas sp. OBA 2.4.1 under cadmium (CdCl(2)) stress and its influence on Cd stresses in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings. It was revealed that strain OBA 2.4.1 is tolerant of up to 2 mM CdCl(2), and seed treatment with the bacterium enhanced pea plant growth (length of seedlings) under 0.5 mM cadmium stress. This bacterial strain showed plant growth-promoting properties, including biofilm formation and siderophore activity. An important advantage of the studied strain OBA 2.4.1 is its ability to colonize the plant roots. Moreover, the inoculation with strain OBA 2.4.1 significantly reduced oxidative stress markers in pea seedlings under cadmium stress. These findings suggest that cadmium stress-tolerant strain OBA 2.4.1 could enhance pea plant growth by mitigating stress-caused damage, possibly providing a baseline and eco-friendly approach to address heavy metal stress for sustainable agriculture.