**5. Conclusions**

BZR 277 and BZR 86 strains are endophytic bacteria associated with the roots of winter wheat plants from Krasnodar Krai (Russia). They are representatives of *B. velezensis*. They possess the properties of PGPR, exhibiting enzymatic activity and promoting the growth of aboveground and underground parts of the cucumber variety Courage and increasing its yield. In addition, BZR 277 and BZR 86 strains have nematicidal activity against the root-knot nematode *M. incognita*. However, further research is needed on the mechanisms associated with the growth-stimulating and biocontrol activity of the strains.

**Author Contributions:** Project administration, A.M.A. and V.D.N.; writing—original draft preparation, A.I.H.; resources, L.N.B.; investigation, G.A.S., L.V.Y., and N.M.S.; data curation, E.V.K.; software, A.V.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The study of bacterial strains, cultivation conditions, and greenhouse evaluation was carried out within the framework of the State Assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, No. FGRN-2022-0005. DNA sequencing of the strain BZR 277, BZR 86, and the construction of the phylogenetic tree based on the whole genome sequencing was supported by a project of the Kuban Science Foundation (grant MFI-20.1/68).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data is contained within the article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
