EN
The rhizosphere of plants serves as a host for a number of microbiota. The mutualistic interaction between rhizosphere bacteria and plants supports the promotion of plant growth. These interactions also support responses against biotic and abiotic stresses through the modulation of plant metabolism. In the current study, we sought to investigate the effects of individual sugar, amino acid, and salicylic acid content upon cucumber plant salt tolerance with respect to Enterobacter sp. SE992 interactions. Enterobacter sp. SE992 was isolated from soil and identified through 16s rDNA sequences. Mechanisms of plant growth promotion were confirmed via tryptophan-dependent indole-3-acetic acid synthesis in bacterial culture medium. Salt tolerance of Enterobacter sp. SE992 was confirmed on bacterial media supplemented with 3 % NaCl. Greenhouse experiments revealed that soil salinity inhibited cucumber plant growth. However, inoculation of Enterobacter sp. SE992 into saline soil mitigated the adverse effects of salt stress, enhancing the length and biomass of shoots and roots. The concentrations of chlorophyll, sucrose, glucose, and fructose were decreased in salt-affected plants. Interaction with Enterobacter sp. SE992 resulted in the enhanced production of chlorophyll and sugars in stressed plants. Salinity correlated with a significant decrease in threonine, glutamine, cysteine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, and arginine levels but stimulated the accumulation of glycine, alanine, leucine, and lysine. Treatment with Enterobacter sp. SE992 ameliorated these stress effects and increased the levels of all amino acids. Marked accumulation of salicylic acid was observed in salt-infected plants, while inoculation with Enterobacter sp. SE992 suppressed salicylic acid synthesis. Our findings suggest that inoculation of Enterobacter sp. SE992 in soil can promote plant growth and increase stress tolerance by positively influencing plant metabolism under conditions of high salinity.