The use of rhizobacteria as biofertilisers and bioremediators is becoming an agricultural priority in more and more countries around the world. Unfortunately, so far only a few countries in Europe have launched programmes in this direction. Moreover, the uncontrolled release of foreign organisms into native agricultural and natural ecosystems is an increasingly less scientifically and socially acceptable alternative. Thus, the identification of indigenous microbial strains for their use as biofertilisers and bioremediators becomes the only approach for modern sustainable agriculture. The proposed project will combine fundamental and applied research in cutting-edge molecular technologies (transcriptomics, metabolomics), biochemistry and applied biotechnology in order to: (a) Isolate and molecularly characterise autochthonous rhizobial strains capable of producing knotweed in valuable legume species and having the potential to be used as bioremediators; (b) Analyse the physiological and molecular characteristics of knotweed-forming legumes using modern molecular technologies; c) Explore rhizobial biodiversity to identify novel detoxification enzymes such as haloalkane dehalogenase; d) Characterise rhizobial haloalkane dehalogenases in terms of substrate specificity; e) Evaluate the ability of selected rhizobial strains to remediate highly toxic pollutants such as DBE and DCE. Integrity of advanced scientific research with an efficient mechanism of knowledge transfer, scientific training and dissemination will contribute favourably to the consolidation of the quality of research in Romania.