Rapid diversification of a free-living protist is driven by adaptation to climate and habitat.

Microbial eukaryotes (protists) have major functional roles in aquatic ecosystems, including the biogeochemical cycling of elements as well as occupying various roles in the food web. Despite their importance for ecosystem function, the factors that drive diversification in protists are not known. Here, we aimed to identify the factors that drive differentiation and, subsequently, speciation in a free-living protist, Synura petersenii (Chrysophyceae).

Promiscuity in Lichens Follows Clear Rules: Partner Switching in Is Regulated by Climatic Factors and Soil Chemistry.

Climatic factors, soil chemistry and geography are considered as major factors affecting lichen distribution and diversity. To determine how these factors limit or support the associations between the symbiotic partners, we revise the lichen symbiosis as a network of relationships here. More than one thousand thalli of terricolous lichens were collected at sites with a wide range of soil chemical properties from seven biogeographical regions of Europe.

The guilds in green algal lichens-an insight into the life of terrestrial symbiotic communities.

Lichenized algae and cyanobacteria are known to be shared and selected by unrelated lichen-forming fungi coexisting in so-called photobiont-mediated guilds. Life in such a guild could be crucial for the survival of a large group of lichen fungi dependent on horizontal transmission of photobionts. Here, we investigate frequent lichen phycobionts of the genus Trebouxia in rock-dwelling lichen communities.