Web of Science-based bibliometric analysis of VBNC state bacteria in environmental sciences

Abstract:

[Background] Viable but non-culturable (VBNC) bacteria with adaptive responses to unfavorable environmental conditions have been extensively studied in the medical and food fields. However, environmental scientists have not paid attention to these bacteria until the last decade. Furthermore, few bibliometric studies in environmental sciences have been conducted regarding VBNC state bacteria. [Objective] The study investigated the research status of VBNC state bacteria in environmental sciences and summarized the research hotspots, trends, and shortcomings, aiming to provide references for the research in this field. [Methods] CiteSpace, Bibliometrix (a R package), and VOSviewer were used to statistically and visually analyze 416 available articles on VBNC state bacteria in environmental sciences that were published from 1994 to 2023 in the Web of Science Core Collection. [Results] In the last 30 years, the number of articles on VBNC state bacteria in environmental sciences showed linear growth (R²=0.917). China and the United States led the research in this field. European and American research institutions embraced close cooperation, while Chinese research institutions mainly cooperated domestically and worked independently. Oliver DJ and Yu X were the authors with the highest number of articles in this field. The research hotspots in this field included the inactivation of VBNC state bacteria in the disinfection of drinking water and the resuscitation of VBNC state bacteria in the treatment of pollutants. [Conclusion] The available studies about VBNC state bacteria in environmental sciences have mainly focused on the formation, inactivation, and resuscitation of VBNC state bacteria, while the inactivation and resuscitation methods remain to be improved. How to improve the inactivation efficiency of VBNC state bacteria in drinking water and enhance the resuscitation of VBNC state bacteria during microbial remediation of pollutants deserves further research.