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Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens

Unraveling the complex relationship between lichen fungal and algal partners has been crucial in understanding lichen dispersal capacity, evolutionary processes, and responses in the face of environmental change. However, lichen symbiosis remains enigmatic, including the ability of a single fungal p...

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Autores principales: Williams, Laura, Colesie, Claudia, Ullmann, Anna, Westberg, Martin, Wedin, Mats, Büdel, Burkhard
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5395455/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28428847
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2809
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author Williams, Laura
Colesie, Claudia
Ullmann, Anna
Westberg, Martin
Wedin, Mats
Büdel, Burkhard
author_facet Williams, Laura
Colesie, Claudia
Ullmann, Anna
Westberg, Martin
Wedin, Mats
Büdel, Burkhard
author_sort Williams, Laura
collection PubMed
description Unraveling the complex relationship between lichen fungal and algal partners has been crucial in understanding lichen dispersal capacity, evolutionary processes, and responses in the face of environmental change. However, lichen symbiosis remains enigmatic, including the ability of a single fungal partner to associate with various algal partners. Psora decipiens is a characteristic lichen of biological soil crusts (BSCs), across semi‐arid, temperate, and alpine biomes, which are particularly susceptible to habitat loss and climate change. The high levels of morphological variation found across the range of Psora decipiens may contribute to its ability to withstand environmental change. To investigate Psora decipiens acclimation potential, individuals were transplanted between four climatically distinct sites across a European latitudinal gradient for 2 years. The effect of treatment was investigated through a morphological examination using light and SEM microscopy; 26S rDNA and rbcL gene analysis assessed site‐specific relationships and lichen acclimation through photobiont switching. Initial analysis revealed that many samples had lost their algal layers. Although new growth was often determined, the algae were frequently found to have died without evidence of a new photobiont being incorporated into the thallus. Mycobiont analysis investigated diversity and determined that new growth was a part of the transplant, thus, revealing that four distinct fungal clades, closely linked to site, exist. Additionally, P. decipiens was found to associate with the green algal genus Myrmecia, with only two genetically distinct clades between the four sites. Our investigation has suggested that P. decipiens cannot acclimate to the substantial climatic variability across its environmental range. Additionally, the different geographical areas are home to genetically distinct and unique populations. The variation found within the genotypic and morpho‐physiological traits of P. decipiens appears to have a climatic determinant, but this is not always reflected by the algal partner. Although photobiont switching occurs on an evolutionary scale, there is little evidence to suggest an active environmentally induced response. These results suggest that this species, and therefore, other lichen species, and BSC ecosystems themselves may be significantly vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss.
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spelling pubmed-53954552017-04-20 Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens Williams, Laura Colesie, Claudia Ullmann, Anna Westberg, Martin Wedin, Mats Büdel, Burkhard Ecol Evol Original Research Unraveling the complex relationship between lichen fungal and algal partners has been crucial in understanding lichen dispersal capacity, evolutionary processes, and responses in the face of environmental change. However, lichen symbiosis remains enigmatic, including the ability of a single fungal partner to associate with various algal partners. Psora decipiens is a characteristic lichen of biological soil crusts (BSCs), across semi‐arid, temperate, and alpine biomes, which are particularly susceptible to habitat loss and climate change. The high levels of morphological variation found across the range of Psora decipiens may contribute to its ability to withstand environmental change. To investigate Psora decipiens acclimation potential, individuals were transplanted between four climatically distinct sites across a European latitudinal gradient for 2 years. The effect of treatment was investigated through a morphological examination using light and SEM microscopy; 26S rDNA and rbcL gene analysis assessed site‐specific relationships and lichen acclimation through photobiont switching. Initial analysis revealed that many samples had lost their algal layers. Although new growth was often determined, the algae were frequently found to have died without evidence of a new photobiont being incorporated into the thallus. Mycobiont analysis investigated diversity and determined that new growth was a part of the transplant, thus, revealing that four distinct fungal clades, closely linked to site, exist. Additionally, P. decipiens was found to associate with the green algal genus Myrmecia, with only two genetically distinct clades between the four sites. Our investigation has suggested that P. decipiens cannot acclimate to the substantial climatic variability across its environmental range. Additionally, the different geographical areas are home to genetically distinct and unique populations. The variation found within the genotypic and morpho‐physiological traits of P. decipiens appears to have a climatic determinant, but this is not always reflected by the algal partner. Although photobiont switching occurs on an evolutionary scale, there is little evidence to suggest an active environmentally induced response. These results suggest that this species, and therefore, other lichen species, and BSC ecosystems themselves may be significantly vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2017-03-16 /pmc/articles/PMC5395455/ /pubmed/28428847 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2809 Text en © 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Williams, Laura
Colesie, Claudia
Ullmann, Anna
Westberg, Martin
Wedin, Mats
Büdel, Burkhard
Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title_full Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title_fullStr Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title_full_unstemmed Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title_short Lichen acclimation to changing environments: Photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in Psora decipiens
title_sort lichen acclimation to changing environments: photobiont switching vs. climate‐specific uniqueness in psora decipiens
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5395455/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28428847
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2809
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