Role of Cyanobacterial Exopolysaccharide in Soil Fertility: Composition, Mechanism and Application.
Maurya N, Sharma A, Dubey J, Sundaram S
Soil Health
Spreading a cyanobacterial slurry on your garden beds or community plot could one day replace synthetic soil conditioners—building the same crumbly, moisture-retaining structure that centuries of undisturbed prairie soils developed naturally.
Tiny blue-green microbes called cyanobacteria secrete a kind of biological glue that holds soil together, keeps it moist, and even traps toxic metals. When soils are damaged by overfarming, salt buildup, or pollution, this glue is missing—but scientists have found ways to add it back by inoculating soil with these microbes or spraying their secretions directly. The result is soil that drains better, feeds plants more effectively, and supports a healthier underground community of organisms.
Key Findings
Cyanobacterial EPS are complex high-molecular-weight polymers containing uronic acids and functional groups that give them strong water-holding capacity, negative surface charge, and the ability to bind heavy metals through chelation and biosorption.
EPS production increases under environmental stress conditions, enhancing microbial biofilm formation and survival—suggesting cyanobacteria naturally ramp up soil-repair activity precisely when soils need it most.
Practical application methods—including slurry inoculation, direct EPS spraying, soil incorporation, and blending with organic amendments—have been identified as viable routes for deploying EPS in degraded agricultural landscapes.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Cyanobacteria—ancient photosynthetic microbes—produce sticky sugars called exopolysaccharides (EPS) that can repair degraded soils by gluing soil particles together, holding water, locking up heavy metals, and feeding beneficial microbes. This review argues EPS-based treatments could be a practical, low-input tool for restoring farmland and improving agricultural resilience.
Abstract Preview
Ecosystem stability and sustainable agriculture are seriously threatened by land degradation and deteriorating soil quality. Nutrient loss, structural instability, and microbial imbalance are accel...
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