Mycobiont-specific primers for lichenized fungal genus <i>Cladonia</i> (Cladoniaceae, Ascomycota).

ABSTRACT: Phylogenetic studies in lichenized fungi need reliable primers, as off-target amplification of environmental fungi or the lichen photobiont presents a challenge. In this study, new mycobiont-specific primers were developed and evaluated for four genetic markers (nrITS, RPB2, MCM7, and mtSSU) within the diverse genus Cladonia. A dataset of 110 specimens was used to assess amplification success, sequence quality, and taxonomic resolution. All markers showed high PCR success rates, with nrITS, MCM7, and mtSSU primer pairs exceeding 90%. nrITS displayed the highest sequence variability and nucleotide diversity, whereas mtSSU was the most conserved. Pairwise genetic distance analyses revealed that nrITS provided the strongest species-level resolution, RPB2 off

SUBMITTER: Biwersi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12800778 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature