Scytinium pulvinatum comb

Abstract In this paper Collema pulvinatum Hoffm. is synonymized under Scytinium pulvinatum (Hoffm.) Otálora, P.M. Jørg. & Wedin, providing "Leptogium" pulvinatum with a formal name

Transoceanic Dispersal and Subsequent Diversification on Separate Continents Shaped Diversity of the Xanthoparmelia pulla Group (Ascomycota)

In traditional morphology-based concepts many species of lichenized fungi have world-wide distributions. Molecular data have revolutionized the species delimitation in lichens and have demonstrated that we underestimated the diversity of these organisms. The aim of this study is to explore the phylogeography and the evolutionary patterns of the Xanthoparmelia pulla group, a widespread group of one of largest genera of macrolichens. We used a dated phylogeny based on nuITS and nuLSU rDNA sequences and performed an ancestral range reconstruction to understand the processes and explain their current distribution, dating the divergence of the major lineages in the group. An inferred age of radiation of parmelioid lichens and the age of a Parmelia fossil were used as the calibration points for the phylogeny. The results show that many species of the X. pulla group as currently delimited are polyphyletic and five major lineages correlate with their geographical distribution and the biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites. South Africa is the area where the X. pulla group radiated during the Miocene times, and currently is the region with the highest genetic, morphological and chemical diversity. From this center of radiation the different lineages migrated by long-distance dispersal to others areas, where secondary radiations developed. The ancestral range reconstruction also detected that a secondary lineage migrated from Australia to South America via long-distance dispersal and subsequent continental radiation

Ecological Specialization of Two Photobiont- Specific Maritime Cyanolichen Species of the Genus Lichina

22 páginas, 4 tablas, 4 figurasAll fungi in the class Lichinomycetes are lichen-forming and exclusively associate with cyanobacteria. Two closely related maritime species of the genus Lichina (L. confinis and L. pygmaea) show similar distribution ranges in the Northeast Atlantic, commonly co-occurring at the same rocky shores but occupying different littoral zones. By means of 16S rRNA and phycocyanin operon markers we studied a) the phylogenetic relationships of cyanobionts associated with these species, b) the match of divergence times between both symbionts, and c) whether Lichina species differ in photobiont association and in how geography and ecology affect selectivity. The cyanobionts studied are closely related to both marine and freshwater strains of the genus Rivularia.We found evidence of a high specificity to particular cyanobiont lineages in both species: Lichina pygmaea and L. confinis incorporate specific lineages of Rivularia that do not overlap at the haplotype nor the OTU levels. Dating divergences of the fungal and cyanobacterial partners revealed an asynchronous origin of both lineages. Within each fungal species, selectivity varied across the studied area, influenced by environmental conditions (both atmospheric and marine), although patterns were highly correlated between both lichen taxa. Ecological speciation due to the differential association of photobionts to each littoral zone is suspected to have occurred in marine Lichina.Both ROA (BES-2013-066105) and SPO (CTM2012-38222-C02-02) were supported in the form of salary by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer reviewe