ITS1 metabarcoding highlights low specificity of lichen mycobiomes at a local scale.

As self-supporting and long-living symbiotic structures, lichens provide a habitat for many other organisms beside the traditionally considered lichen symbionts-the myco- and the photobionts. The lichen-inhabiting fungi either develop diagnostic phenotypes or occur asymptomatically. Because the degree of specificity towards the lichen host is poorly known, we studied the diversity of these fungi among neighbouring lichens on rocks in an alpine habitat.

Effects of Growth Media on the Diversity of Culturable Fungi from Lichens.

Microscopic and molecular studies suggest that lichen symbioses contain a plethora of associated fungi. These are potential producers of novel bioactive compounds, but strains isolated on standard media usually represent only a minor subset of these fungi. By using various in vitro growth conditions we are able to modulate and extend the fraction of culturable lichen-associated fungi.

Extremotolerant fungi from alpine rock lichens and their phylogenetic relationships.

Fungi other than the lichen mycobiont frequently co-occur within lichen thalli and on the same rock in harsh environments. In these situations dark-pigmented mycelial structures are commonly observed on lichen thalli, where they persist under the same stressful conditions as their hosts. Here we used a comprehensive sampling of lichen-associated fungi from an alpine habitat to assess their phylogenetic relationships with fungi previously known from other niches.

Phylogenetic placement of the lichenicolous, anamorphic genus Lichenodiplis and its connection to Muellerella-like teleomorphs.

Lichenicolous fungi are a specialized group of taxa which inhabit lichens and develop diverse degrees of specificity and parasitic behaviour towards their hosts. They are recognized only by their phenotypic symptoms and sexual or asexual spore-producing structures on the lichen thalli. Only recently, molecular data and culture dependent approaches have helped in uncovering the species diversity and in verifying the phylogenetic position and anamorph-teleomorph relationships of some taxa.

Community Analyses Uncover High Diversity of Lichenicolous Fungi in Alpine Habitats.

Lichens are frequently colonized by specialized, lichenicolous fungi. Symptomatic lichenicolous fungi usually display typical phenotypes and reproductive structures on the lichen hosts. The classification based on these structures revealed different host specificity patterns.

Photobiont selectivity leads to ecological tolerance and evolutionary divergence in a polymorphic complex of lichenized fungi.

Background And Aims: The integrity and evolution of lichen symbioses depend on a fine-tuned combination of algal and fungal genotypes. Geographically widespread species complexes of lichenized fungi can occur in habitats with slightly varying ecological conditions, and it remains unclear how this variation correlates with symbiont selectivity patterns in lichens. In an attempt to address this question, >300 samples were taken of the globally distributed and ecologically variable lichen-forming species complex Tephromela atra, together with closely allied species, in order to study genetic diversity and the selectivity patterns of their photobionts.

Genetic variation in brown trout Salmo trutta across the Danube, Rhine, and Elbe headwaters: a failure of the phylogeographic paradigm?

Background: Brown trout Salmo trutta have been described in terms of five major mtDNA lineages, four of which correspond to major ocean basins, and one, according to some authors, to a distinct taxon, marbled trout Salmo marmoratus. The Atlantic and Danubian lineages of brown trout meet in a poorly documented contact zone in Central Europe. The natural versus human mediated origin of the Atlantic lineage in the upper Danube is a question of both theoretical and practical importance with respect to conservation management.