Abstract
The environmental buildup of heavy metals poses a serious threat to plant growth and agricultural productivity. Utilizing the potential of metal-resistant bacteria to reduce heavy metal–induced stress in plants has gained popularity in recent years. To reduce the negative effects of heavy metal stress, it is important to understand the complex interactions between heavy metal–resistant bacteria and plants. This chapter explores how plants serve as both hosts for heavy metal–resistant bacterial growth and recipients of their unique defenses against heavy metal toxicity. It also describes the various defense mechanisms depicted by the heavy metal resistance bacteria for their survival and selective plant growth–promoting (PGP) mechanisms observed in them under heavy metal pollution. PGP traits include phytohormone production, siderophores synthesis, and ACC deaminase activity. These systems promote plant growth and biomass accumulation in addition to mitigating the harmful effects of heavy metals on plant physiology. This chapter demonstrates the potential use of heavy metal–resistant bacteria and their PGP mechanisms for sustainable agriculture, environmental restoration, and robust plant systems in environments with high levels of heavy metal contamination.
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