1 research outputs found
Black fungi in lichens from seasonally arid habitats
We present a phylogenetic study of black fungi in lichens, primarily
focusing on saxicolous samples from seasonally arid habitats in Armenia, but
also with examples from other sites. Culturable strains of lichen-associated
black fungi were obtained by isolation from surface-washed lichen material.
Determination is based on ITS rDNA sequence data and comparison with published
sequences from other sources. The genera Capnobotryella,
Cladophialophora, Coniosporium, Mycosphaerella, and
Rhinocladiella were found in different lichen species, which showed
no pathogenic symptoms. A clade of predominantly lichen-associated strains is
present only in Rhinocladiella, whereas samples of the remaining
genera were grouped more clearly in clades with species from other sources.
The ecology of most-closely related strains indicates that
Capnobotryella and Coniosporium, and perhaps also
Rhinocladiella strains opportunistically colonise lichens. In
contrast, high sequence divergence in strains assigned to
Mycosphaerella could indicate the presence of several lichen-specific
species with unknown range of hosts or habitats, which are distantly related
to plant-inhabitants. Similar applies to Cladophialophora strains,
where the closest relatives of the strains from lichens are serious human
pathogens