Unraveling the interplay between phylogeny and chemical niches in epiphytic macrolichens.

This study aims to elucidate the connection between the phylogeny of epiphytic macrolichens and their chemical niches. We analyzed published floristic and environmental data from 90 canopies of Picea glauca x engelmannii across various forest settings in British Columbia. To explore the concordance between a principal coordinates analysis of the cladistic distance matrix and a global non-metric multidimensional scaling of the ecological distance matrix, we used Procrustean randomization tests.

High species richness in the lichen genus (): 34 species in the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades of section , including 24 new to science.

Applying molecular methods to fungi establishing lichenized associations with green algae or cyanobacteria has repeatedly revealed the existence of numerous phylogenetic taxa overlooked by classical taxonomic approaches. Here, we report taxonomical conclusions based on multiple species delimitation and validation analyses performed on an eight-locus dataset that includes world-wide representatives of the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades in section of the genus . Following the recommendations resulting from a consensus species delimitation approach and additional species validation analysis (BPP) performed in this study, we present a total of 25 species in the dolichorhizoid clade and nine in the scabrosoid clade, including respectively 18 and six species that are new to science and formally described.

Contrasting Symbiotic Patterns in Two Closely Related Lineages of Trimembered Lichens of the Genus .

Species circumscription is key to the characterization of patterns of specificity in symbiotic systems at a macroevolutionary scale. Here, a worldwide phylogenetic framework was used to assess the biodiversity and symbiotic patterns of association among partners in trimembered lichens from the genus , section . We sequenced six loci of the main fungal partner and performed species discovery and validation analyses to establish putative species boundaries.

The phylogenetic analysis of fungi associated with lichenized ascomycete genus Bryoria reveals new lineages in the Tremellales including a new species Tremella huuskonenii hyperparasitic on Phacopsis huuskonenii.

The basidiomycete order Tremellales includes many species parasitic on or cohabiting with lichen-forming fungi. In this study, we examined the phylogenetic position of Tremellales obtained from Bryoria thalli using nSSU, 5.8S, and partial nLSU sequence data.

Evolution of complex symbiotic relationships in a morphologically derived family of lichen-forming fungi.

We studied the evolutionary history of the Parmeliaceae (Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota), one of the largest families of lichen-forming fungi with complex and variable morphologies, also including several lichenicolous fungi. We assembled a six-locus data set including nuclear, mitochondrial and low-copy protein-coding genes from 293 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The lichenicolous lifestyle originated independently three times in lichenized ancestors within Parmeliaceae, and a new generic name is introduced for one of these fungi.