Ecological Specialization of Two Photobiont-Specific Maritime Cyanolichen Species of the Genus Lichina.

ABSTRACT: All fungi in the class Lichinomycetes are lichen-forming and exclusively associate with cyanobacteria. Two closely related maritime species of the genus Lichina (L. confinis and L. pygmaea) show similar distribution ranges in the Northeast Atlantic, commonly co-occurring at the same rocky shores but occupying different littoral zones. By means of 16S rRNA and phycocyanin operon markers we studied a) the phylogenetic relationships of cyanobionts associated with these species, b) the match of divergence times between both symbionts, and c) whether Lichina species differ in photobiont association and in how geography and ecology affect selectivity. The cyanobionts studied are closely related to both marine and freshwater strains of the genus Rivularia. We found evidence of a high specificity

SUBMITTER: Ortiz-Alvarez R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4504470 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature