Lichen speciation is sparked by a substrate requirement shift and reproduction mode differentiation.

ABSTRACT: We show that obligate lignicoles in lichenized Micarea are predominately asexual whereas most facultative lignicoles reproduce sexually. Our phylogenetic analyses (ITS, mtSSU, Mcm7) together with ancestral state reconstruction show that the shift in reproduction mode has evolved independently several times within the group and that facultative and obligate lignicoles are sister species. The analyses support the assumption that the ancestor of these species was a facultative lignicole. We hypothezise that a shift in substrate requirement from bark to wood leads to differentiation in reproduction mode and becomes a driver of speciation. This is the first example of lichenized fungi where reproduction mode is connected to substrate requirement. This is also the first example where such an ass

SUBMITTER: Kantelinen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9247095 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature