The adaptive radiation of lichen-forming Teloschistaceae is associated with sunscreening pigments and a bark-to-rock substrate shift.

ABSTRACT: Adaptive radiations play key roles in the generation of biodiversity and biological novelty, and therefore understanding the factors that drive them remains one of the most important challenges of evolutionary biology. Although both intrinsic innovations and extrinsic ecological opportunities contribute to diversification bursts, few studies have looked at the synergistic effect of such factors. Here we investigate the Teloschistales (Ascomycota), a group of >1,000 lichenized species with variation in species richness and phenotypic traits that hinted at a potential adaptive radiation. We found evidence for a dramatic increase in diversification rate for one of four families within this order--Teloschistaceae--which occurred ∼ 100 Mya (Late Cretaceous) and was associated with a switch from

SUBMITTER: Gaya E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4577145 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature