Inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria alters the rhizosphere functioning of tomato plants

Abstract Inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) represents an efficient method in sustainable agriculture to improve nutrients availability and crop production in diverse environmental conditions. In the present work, untargeted metabolomics and community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) approaches were employed to investigate the shaping of tomato rhizosphere functioning and potential metabolic activity imposed by rhizosphere-associated microbiome, following inoculation with two different PGPB (Enterobacter sp. 15S and Pseudomonas sp. 16S). Significant increases in root and shoot dry biomass were observed in both inoculated treatments, when compared to uninoculated plants (p