DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF LICHEN IN SIMILIPAL BIOSPHERE RESERVE, ODISHA

Lichens are organized symbionts that have their importance due to a potential indicator of the forest ecosystem. The lichen diversity of Odisha is not well explored as compared to the other phytogeographical region of India. Though the earlier study reported the occurrence of 252 lichen species from different parts of the state, it was limited to the northeast part of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR). The objective of the present study was to survey some unexplored areas of SBR, which revealed the occurrence of 84 species of lichens belonging to 38 families and 18 genera. Most of the lichens were found growing as phorophytes on the matured bark of the trees. The western part of the SBR is rich in lichen diversity as compared to the eastern part. Species frequency was found to be highest in the southwest part of the SBR, while the density and abundance were more or less similar within all the study sites. The correlation between frequency and density was found to be significant and insignificant between frequency and abundance

Pyrenocarpous lichens in Goa with five new records to India

The pyrenocarpous lichens are the one which produces perithecial ascocarps. They are one of the prominent groups of lichens in tropical forests. Frequent incidence of pyrenocarpous taxa in lichen biota of Goa prompted us to take up the exclusive study of this group in the State. The study revealed the occurrence of 79 species belonging to 15 genera and seven families. The family Pyrenulaceae had the maximum number of 23 species, while 20 belonged to the family Porinaceae. In comparison to North Goa, South Goa is fairly well explored for lichens representing 71 species from 11 localities. The following five species are reported as new to India — Porina exserta, P. siamensis, Pyrenula dissimulans, P. pyrenastrospora and P. rinodinospora. With the addition of five new records, the Goa State now represents 165 species of lichens, out of which 48% is represented by pyrenocarpous lichens. The present study will be useful for monographic studies on pyrenocarpous lichens and for environmental monitoring studies in the area, as this can be considered as a key indicator species

Lichen synusiae in East Antarctica (Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann Hills): substratum and morphological preferences

Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems experience some of the most extreme growth conditions, where plant distribution is determined by favourable environmental gradients of temperature and moisture along with micro-topography of habitats. Lichens are among the most tolerant symbiotic organisms which constitute dominant component in the terrestrial biota of Antarctica. There are various studies dealing with patterns of lichen diversity of various regions of Antarctica are done but in east Antarctica such studies are scanty. Lichen synusiae of Schirmacher Oasis and McLeod Island, Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica were studied in order to determine their morphological and substratum affinities. The Lichen synusiae of the study sites was represented by 71 species, 24 genera and 13 families in Schirmacher Oasis and 27 species, 18 genera and 10 families in McLeod Island, Larsemann Hills. Hierarchical cluster analysis of lichen communities on the basis of growth form diversity and substratum occurrence showed that crustose growth form and saxicolous (on rock, stones and moraines) habitat were the most preferred, in both study sites. The study presents a representative account of morphological and substratum preference patterns in lichen synusiae of east Antarctica, which can be of fundamental importance for future lichenological investigation in the region

Streamlined and Cost-Effective Genomic DNA Extraction Method for Lichens, Mushrooms, and Endolichenic Fungi: Enabling DNA Barcoding and Molecular Research

Extraction of nucleic acids in pure form from organisms is of paramount importance for DNA based identification and other molecular studies. Over the past few decades, DNA-barcoding has emerged as a powerful technique, facilitating species identification across various ‘difficult to identify’ life-forms. Fungi, being an immensely diverse group of microorganisms, contribute significantly to global biodiversity, with estimates ranging from 2.2 to 3.8 million species. However, a vast majority of this diversity remains unidentified, and many fungal species are considered cryptic. Therefore, numerous large- and small-scale DNA-barcoding projects are being conducted worldwide to unravel this rich biodiversity. However, the rigidity and high complex polysaccharides content of fungal cell-wall presents a significant obstacle, making the extraction of high-quality genomic DNA a challenging task across varied fungal organisms. In this study, we employed a modified CTAB based method to isolate and purify high-quality PCR-amplifiable genomic DNA primarily from lichens and tested it on other fungal life forms as well, including, mushrooms, endolichenic fungi, and parasitic fungi. Remarkably, the isolated DNA proved successful as a template in PCR reactions, serving the purposes of DNA barcoding, RAPD as well as for metagenomic analysis effectively. This versatile protocol demonstrated its utility across all the fungal life forms investigated in this study, offering a universal, cost-effective, and efficient approach for fungal DNA isolation

Antidermatophytic Activity of the Fruticose Lichen Usnea orientalis

In the present study, the new biological sources in the form of lichen Usnea orientalis Motyka was screened for its antidermatophytic potential. Six species of dermatophytes were chosen on the basis of their prevalence for antidermatophytic assays, and the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI)-recommended broth microdilution procedure was used to detect the efficacy of extract against dermatophytes. Thin layer chromatography of lichen extracts reveals the presence of two secondary metabolites viz. salazinic acid and usnic acid. U. orientalis extract exhibited promising antidermatophytic activity against all tested pathogens. Amongst all tested pathogens, Epidermophyton floccosum exhibited most susceptibility towards extract, whereas Trichophyton mentagrophytes exhibited the least susceptibility. Topical application of U. orientalis extract might be helpful in the cure of dermal infections

Three new records of lichenised fungi from India

Three lichen species, namely Amandinea errata and Baculifera xylophila, belonging to family Caliciaceae, and Baeomyces rufus, of family Baeomycetaceae, are newly reported for the Indian lichen biota. A brief morphotaxonomic description of each species, along with their ecology and distribution, is also provided

Addition of 96 lichen species to the state of Odisha from Similipal Biosphere Reserve

A total of 96 species of lichens taxa belonging to 45 genera and 20 families are enumerated from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, in Mayurbhanj district as an addition to the lichen biota of Odisha, India. Most of the crustose lichen taxa usually growing as epiphytes on different phorophytes of the biosphere reserve exhibit their dominance. Among crustose lichens the members of family Graphidaceae with 26 species of 14 genera shown their maximum dominance. Together with Graphidaceae the lichen genus Pyrenula represented by 15 species found growing luxuriantly on smooth barked trees of the biosphere reserve. The dominant trees in the biosphere such as Shorea robusta Gaertn. followed by Mangifera indica L., Simarouba glauca DC. and Madhuca longifolia (L.) J. F. Macbr., provided suitable habitat for a number of lichen taxa to colonize. The south-west (SW) region of Similipal Biosphere Reserve exhibits the maximum additions of lichens, followed by north-west (NW), north-east (NE) and south-east (SE) respectively

The lichen genera Dictyomeridium and Polymeridium (Trypetheliales: Trypetheliaceae) in India

Taxonomic account of Dictyomeridium and Polymeridium are presented from India. Polymeridium cinereonigricans (Vain.) R.C. Harris, P. pleurothecium R.C. Harris and P. submuriforme Aptroot are reported as new records for India. An artificial key to all the species known so far from India along with notes on their distribution and ecology is also presented

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-GB">Natural thalli and cultured mycobiont of <i>Usnea ghattensis </i>G. Awasthi- A potential source of purple dye yielding lichen from India</span>

489-492Usnea ghtattensis G. Awasthi and its cultured mycobiont were used to extract dye for silk fibre, using ammonia fermentation, boiling water and cow urine methods. Both natural thalli as well as lichen cultured mycobiont yield a Purple dye from ammonia fermentation method, while the other two methods produced light shade of colours. The dyed silk threads were evaluated for fastness properties by some treatments like effect of sunlight and detergent. Both natural lichen and cultured mycobiont dyes yield fast colour to the fibre