| Summary: | Microbial-assisted phytoremediation is considered a more effective approach to soil rehabilitation than the sole use of plants. <i>Mycolicibacterium</i> sp. Pb113 and <i>Chitinophaga</i> sp. Zn19, heavy-metal-resistant PGPR strains originally isolated from the rhizosphere of <i>Miscanthus × giganteus</i>, were used as inoculants of the host plant grown in control and zinc-contaminated (1650 mg/kg) soil in a 4-month pot experiment. The diversity and taxonomic structure of the rhizosphere microbiomes, assessed with metagenomic analysis of rhizosphere samples for the 16S rRNA gene, were studied. Principal coordinate analysis showed differences in the formation of the microbiomes, which was affected by zinc rather than by the inoculants. Bacterial taxa affected by zinc and the inoculants, and the taxa potentially involved in the promotion of plant growth as well as in assisted phytoremediation, were identified. Both inoculants promoted miscanthus growth, but only <i>Chitinophaga</i> sp. Zn19 contributed to significant Zn accumulation in the aboveground part of the plant. In this study, the positive effect of miscanthus inoculation with <i>Mycolicibacterium</i> spp. and <i>Chitinophaga</i> spp. was demonstrated for the first time. On the basis of our data, the bacterial strains studied may be recommended to improve the efficiency of <i>M. × giganteus</i> phytoremediation of zinc-contaminated soil.
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