"Interestingly, Wright and Upadhayaya (1998), at the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA), have discovered a unique fungal protein that may be the primary glue (nicknamed ‘superglue’) that holds soils together. The protein is named ‘glomalin’, for Glomales, the scientific name for the group of common root-dwelling fungi that secrete the protein through hairlike filament called hypha." (From the link suggested by Mark Goodwin in the "Root Tensile Strength" thread.)

Wright, S F and Upadhayaya, A (1998). A survey of soils for aggregate stability and glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Plant and Soil, 198:97 - 107, Kluwer Academic Publishers, the Netherlands.

Reply to post by Soil Glue, on December 31, 2000 at 07:46:32:

The question is what is the purpose of this "glue"? Is the adhesive effect a secondary purpose to its real function? And of course, what effect does this have on plant roots?

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on December 31, 2000 at 07:46:32:

Russ. I've only seen the abstract, not the full text. From the context I think the focus was the secondary effect on soils and slope stability rather than the "purpose" for the plants. We might infer that there is a biomechanical role in keeping the plant upright. The literature is pretty clear that the ability to resist windthrow is directly related to soil shear strength... both the grip of individual roots in soil and the cohesion of the the root-soil mass to surrounding soil.

Reply to post by Scott, on January 07, 2001 at 11:45:53:

Hey!
Check out this link:
www.soilfoodweb.com