Journal
LICHENOLOGIST
Volume 44, Issue 1, Pages 137-146Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0024282911000648
Keywords
Ascomycota; bacteria; endolichenic/lichenicolous fungi; invertebrates
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- US Department of Agriculture
- Division Of Earth Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [1239281] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Although various eukaryotic organisms, such as arthropods, endolichenic/lichenicolous fungi, and nematodes, have been isolated from lichens, the diversity and structure of eukaryotic communities associated with lichen thalli has not been well studied. In addressing this knowledge gap, we used bar-coded pyrosequencing of 18S rRNA genes to survey eukaryotes associated with thalli of three different lichen species. In addition to revealing an expected high abundance of lichen biont-related 18S genes, sequences recovered in our survey showed non-biont fungi from the Ascomycota also have a substantial presence in these thalli. Our samples additionally harboured fungi representing phyla (Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota) that have not been isolated previously from lichens; however, their very low abundance indicates an incidental presence. The recovery of Alveolata, Metazoa, and Rhizaria sequences, along with recent work revealing the considerable bacterial diversity in these same samples, suggests lichens function as minute ecosystems in addition to being symbiotic organisms.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available