Mapping the scientific knowledge of glomalin-related soil protein with implications for carbon sequestration

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) derived refractory organic matter, mainly in glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), stores globally significant amounts of carbon, attracting wide attention in response to climatic change. However, there is no synthesis review has been done so far to reveal global research progresses on GRSP, especially its ecological role for climate mitigation. Here,we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the papers on GRSP research from 1998 to 2021, based on the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection.We collected a total of 634 papers and analyzed the characteristics of publication outputs in various countries and institutions. In addition, keywords analysis was conducted to reveal the main research directions and hot trends in the field of GRSP. We confirmed that 1) the number of papers published per year has gradually increased since 2010, and increased sharply in 2019; 2) the United States was the earliest country to conduct GRSP research, while China currently has the largest number of publications; 3) relevant studies focus on the role from AMF and GRSP in soil health and plant health; 4) the contribution of GRSP to soil carbon and its ecological function in mitigating climate change are the hotspot of research. The benefits of GRSP have become a consensus, however, the nature of glomalin and the mechanisms of GRSP-associated benefits still need to explore. As an important soil recalcitrant organic carbon, further studies are need to elucidate the land-ocean biogeochemical processes of GRSP and its contribution to global blue carbon.

Microbial Necromass, Lignin, and Glycoproteins for Determining and Optimizing Blue Carbon Formation

“…The lignin phenols have been quantified to contribute to 0.19–8.3% of the SOC pools in coastal wetlands . Glycoprotein glomalin, which is generated by AM fungi, is assessed in the soil as glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP). − These recalcitrant, hydrophobic, and sticky glycoproteins can enhance the accumulation of organic C in coastal wetlands through facilitating aggregate formation and stabilization. − While a direct relationship or link may not be apparent among microbial necromass C, lignin phenol, and GRSP, it is still valuable to investigate their relative contributions to SOC accumulation, stability, and interaction in coastal wetlands.…”

The relationship of soil sulfur with glomalin-related soil protein and humic substances under different mineral and organic fertilisation

“…Another part of SOM received quite a lot of attention and that is glomalin content (Liu et al 2022). Original work by Wright et al (1996) considered it to be a specific protein produced by the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF).…”

“…Original work by Wright et al (1996) considered it to be a specific protein produced by the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF). Interestingly, the exact molecular structure of pure glomalin is not yet known (Liu et al 2022), so the wider term encompassing all "glomalin-related soil protein" (GRSP) was adopted (Rillig 2004). GRSP includes heat-stable glycoproteins, humic substances (Deng et al 2023), and polysaccharides (Gunina and Kuzyakov 2015).…”