The guilds in green algal lichens-an insight into the life of terrestrial symbiotic communities

Lichenized algae and cyanobacteria are known to be shared and selected by unrelated lichen-forming fungi coexisting in so-called photobiont-mediated guilds. Life in such a guild could be crucial for the survival of a large group of lichen fungi dependent on horizontal transmission of photobionts. Here, we investigate frequent lichen phycobionts of the genus Trebouxia in rock-dwelling lichen communities. We found intensive and repeated sharing of specific Trebouxia assemblages by co-occurring lichens across distant localities. Rock chemistry, expressed as pH, determined the composition of photobiont pools and separated three saxicolous lichen guilds, sharing environmentally specific photobiont groups. Moreover, unlike the majority of lichen fungi, many Trebouxia photobionts represented opportunists in the choice of general substrate form (soil-rock-tree bark/wood), maintaining their pH preferences. Thus, saxicolous communities form just a part of a complex guild system that is in principle mediated by environmentally conditioned groups of naturally co-occurring photobionts. The complexity of the system is influenced by diverse photobiont life strategies, including also dispersal style. The findings of photobionts strictly or predominantly associated with sexually reproducing fungi stimulated us to emphasize the role of free-dispersing photobionts in the establishment and maintenance of lichen guilds. Lichen fungi form highly complex and extensive photobiont-mediated system composed of various and differently overlapping guilds that are established across the basic ecological groups of saxi-, terricolous and epiphytic lichens.

Automated summary

Lichenized algae and cyanobacteria are shared and selected by unrelated lichen-forming fungi in photobiont-mediated guilds. Rock chemistry determines the composition of photobiont pools and separates saxicolous lichen guilds. The complexity of the system is influenced by diverse photobiont life strategies and dispersal styles.