Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 147-161Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02560.x
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [DEB-1011504, DEB-0640956]
- James B. Duke Fellowship for Graduate Study
- Keever Endowment
- Duke Graduate International Research Travel Award
- Explorers Club Diversa Awards
- Christiane and Christopher Tyson OTS Research Fellowship
- Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration
- Field Research Grant
- Duke Chapter of Sigma Xi
- Mycological Society of America
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1011504] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Although common knowledge dictates that the lichen thallus is formed solely by a fungus (mycobiont) that develops a symbiotic relationship with an alga and/or cyanobacterium (photobiont), the non-photoautotrophic bacteria found in lichen microbiomes are increasingly regarded as integral components of lichen thalli. For this study, comparative analyses were conducted on lichen-associated bacterial communities to test for effects of photobionttypes (i.e. green algal vs. cyanobacterial), mycobionttypes and large-scale spatial distances (from tropical to arctic latitudes). Amplicons of the 16S (SSU) rRNA gene were examined using both Sanger sequencing of cloned fragments and barcoded pyrosequencing. Rhizobiales is typically the most abundant and taxonomically diverse order in lichen microbiomes; however, overall bacterial diversity in lichens is shown to be much higher than previously reported. Members of Acidobacteriaceae, Acetobacteraceae, Brucellaceae and sequence group LAR1 are the most commonly found groups across the phylogenetically and geographically broad array of lichens examined here. Major bacterial community trends are significantly correlated with differences in large-scale geography, photobiont-type and mycobiont-type. The lichen as a microcosm represents a structured, unique microbial habitat with greater ecological complexity and bacterial diversity than previously appreciated and can serve as a model system for studying larger ecological and evolutionary principles.
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