[en] [en] PREMISE: Southern Africa is a biodiversity hotspot rich in endemic plants and lichen-forming fungi. However, species-level data about lichen photobionts in this region are minimal. We focused on Trebouxia (Chlorophyta), the most common lichen photobiont, to understand how southern African species fit into the global biodiversity of this genus and are distributed across biomes and mycobiont partners.
METHODS: We sequenced Trebouxia nuclear ribosomal ITS and rbcL of 139 lichen thalli from diverse biomes in South Africa and Namibia. Global Trebouxia phylogenies incorporating these new data were inferred with a maximum likelihood approach. Trebouxia biodiversity, biogeography, and mycobiont-photobiont associations were assessed in phylogenetic and ecological network frameworks.
RESULTS: An estimated 43 putative Trebouxia species were found across the region, including seven potentially endemic species. Only five clades represent formally described species: T. arboricola s.l. (A13), T. cf. cretacea (A01), T. incrustata (A06), T. lynniae (A39), and T. maresiae (A46). Potential endemic species were not significantly associated with the Greater Cape Floristic Region or desert. Trebouxia species occurred frequently across multiple biomes. Annual precipitation, but not precipitation seasonality, was significant in explaining variation in Trebouxia communities. Consistent with other studies of lichen photobionts, the Trebouxia-mycobiont network had an anti-nested structure.
CONCLUSIONS: Depending on the metric used, ca. 20-30% of global Trebouxia biodiversity occurs in southern Africa, including many species yet to be described. With a classification scheme for Trebouxia now well established, tree-based approaches are preferable over "barcode gap" methods for delimiting new species.
Medeiros, Ian D ; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Ibáñez, Alicia ; Independent Researcher, Gamboa, Panama
Arnold, A Elizabeth ; School of Plant Sciences, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Bio5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Hedderson, Terry A ; Bolus Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Miadlikowska, Jolanta ; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Flakus, Adam ; W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Kraków, Poland
Carbone, Ignazio ; Center for Integrated Fungal Research, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
LaGreca, Scott ; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Magain, Nicolas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Integrative Biological Sciences (InBioS)
Mazur, Edyta ; W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Kraków, Poland
Castillo, Reinaldo Vargas ; Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Chile
Geml, József ; Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger, Hungary
Kaup, Maya; Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
Maggs-Kölling, Gillian ; Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, Gobabeb, Namibia
Oita, Shuzo ; School of Plant Sciences, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Bio5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Sathiya Seelan, Jaya Seelan ; Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Terlova, Elizaveta ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
Hom, Erik F Y ; Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
Lewis, Louise A ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
Lutzoni, François ; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Eco-phylogenetic study of Trebouxia in southern Africa reveals interbiome connectivity and potential endemism in a green algal lichen photobiont.
Publication date :
December 2024
Journal title :
American Journal of Botany
ISSN :
0002-9122
eISSN :
1537-2197
Publisher :
John Wiley and Sons Inc, United States
Volume :
111
Issue :
12
Pages :
e16441
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funding text :
Specimens were collected and exported under permits from South African National Parks (CRC/2019-2020/020-\u22122018/V1), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (OP 1404/2019), Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, CapeNature (CN35-31-9213 and export permit CN17-31-9607), and the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism. We thank the Namibian National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and National Commission on Research, Science and Technology. We acknowledge the Sabah Biodiversity Center (SABC) and Sabah Parks for issuing collecting and export permits in Borneo [Access License JKM/MBS.1000-2/2 JLD.6 (101) and Transfer License JKM/MB.1000-2/3 JLD.3 (70)] and the Corporaci\u00F3n Nacional Forestal for issuing collecting and export permits in Chile (034/2016). Funding for this research was provided by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) through the collaborative grant \u201CGoLife: Filling the largest void of the fungal genealogy of life (the Pezizomycotina) and integrating symbiotic, environmental and physiological data layers\u201D (DEB 1541548 to F.L. and J.M.; DEB 1541496 to A.E.A.; DEB 1541538 to E.F.Y.H.). I.D.M. was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant DGE 1644868. The authors thank Carlos Pardo-De la Hoz, Shannon Skarha, Diego Garfias Gallegos, and Pierre-Luc Chagnon for feedback on an initial draft and thank Silke Werth and three anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript.Specimens were collected and exported under permits from South African National Parks (CRC/2019\u20102020/020\u2010\u22122018/V1), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (OP 1404/2019), Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, CapeNature (CN35\u201031\u20109213 and export permit CN17\u201031\u20109607), and the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism. We thank the Namibian National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and National Commission on Research, Science and Technology. We acknowledge the Sabah Biodiversity Center (SABC) and Sabah Parks for issuing collecting and export permits in Borneo [Access License JKM/MBS.1000\u20102/2 JLD.6 (101) and Transfer License JKM/MB.1000\u20102/3 JLD.3 (70)] and the Corporaci\u00F3n Nacional Forestal for issuing collecting and export permits in Chile (034/2016). Funding for this research was provided by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) through the collaborative grant \u201CGoLife: Filling the largest void of the fungal genealogy of life (the Pezizomycotina) and integrating symbiotic, environmental and physiological data layers\u201D (DEB 1541548 to F.L. and J.M.; DEB 1541496 to A.E.A.; DEB 1541538 to E.F.Y.H.). I.D.M. was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant DGE 1644868. The authors thank Carlos Pardo\u2010De la Hoz, Shannon Skarha, Diego Garfias Gallegos, and Pierre\u2010Luc Chagnon for feedback on an initial draft and thank Silke Werth and three anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript.
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