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Abstract Detail



Bryology and Lichenology

Lindgren, Hanna [1], Moncada, Bibiana [2], Luecking, Robert [3], Magain, Nicolas [4], Simon, Antoine [5], Serusiaux, Emmanuel [5], Goffinet, Bernard [6], Widhelm, Todd [7], Lumbsch, Thorsten [8].

Species in the lichenized fungal genus Sticta (Lobariaceae) associate with green algae from multiple genera in the family Trebouxiophyceae.

The lichen genus Sticta is a group of foliose macrolichens in the family Lobariaceae with cosmopolitan distribution, reaching the greatest species diversity in tropical montane regions. Species in this genus associate with either green algae or cyanobacteria, but some species can form tripartite associations or photosymbiodemes with both partners. Previous studies have shown that while Sticta associate mostly with green algae in the genus Symbiochloris, other algae such as Heveochlorella are potential photosynthetic partners for Sticta. We examined the diversity and the selectivity of green algae associated with species in genus Sticta. We used rbcL and 18S rDNA sequence data from multiple individuals collected in South America, Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius and New Zealand to infer maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenies for the algal partner using RAxML and MrBayes. Our results show that in addition to Symbiochloris, Sticta also associates with green algae from the genera Heveochlorella and Elliptochloris. In addition, we found that algal partners of six Sticta specimens grouped in the same clade with algae from genera Chlorella and Chloroidium, suggesting that Sticta might also associate with algae from these genera. Our results also show that species in the genus Sticta have different preferences for algal partners in different geographical regions as Sticta from Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius associated exclusively with Heveochlorella algae, whereas Elliptochloris was only found in Sticta collected in Australasia. In contrast, all Sticta specimens originating from South America associated with Symbiochloris.


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1 - The Field Museum, Integrative Research Center, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
2 - Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Herbario, Bogotá, Colombia
3 - Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, Königin-Luise-Straße 6-8, Berlin, Germany
4 - Duke University, Department of Biology, Durham, NC, USA
5 - University of Liège, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Liège, Belgium
6 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, U-3043, STORRS, CT, 06269-3043, USA
7 - Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 60605, United States
8 - The Field Museum, Science & Education, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA

Keywords:
lichens
green algae
symbiosis.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 28, Bryology and Lichenology (ABLS) II
Location: Sundance 1/Omni Hotel
Date: Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Time: 2:45 PM
Number: 28006
Abstract ID:173
Candidate for Awards:None


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