<i>Antarctolichenia onofrii</i> gen. nov. sp. nov. from Antarctic Endolithic Communities Untangles the Evolution of Rock-Inhabiting and Lichenized Fungi in <i>Arthoniomycetes</i>
Microbial endolithic communities are the main and most widespread life forms in the coldest and hyper-arid desert of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and other ice-free areas across Victoria Land, Antarctica. There, the lichen-dominated communities are complex and self-supporting assemblages of phototrophic...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/98d8fd1948c147f887a140df45470f86 |
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| Sumario: | Microbial endolithic communities are the main and most widespread life forms in the coldest and hyper-arid desert of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and other ice-free areas across Victoria Land, Antarctica. There, the lichen-dominated communities are complex and self-supporting assemblages of phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms, including bacteria, chlorophytes, and both free-living and lichen-forming fungi living at the edge of their physiological adaptability. In particular, among the free-living fungi, microcolonial, melanized, and anamorphic species are highly recurrent, while a few species were sometimes found to be associated with algae. One of these fungi is of paramount importance for its peculiar traits, i.e., a yeast-like habitus, co-growing with algae and being difficult to propagate in pure culture. In the present study, this taxon is herein described as the new genus <i>Antarctolichenia</i> and its type species is <i>A. onofrii</i>, which represents a transitional group between the free-living and symbiotic lifestyle in <i>Arthoniomycetes</i>. The phylogenetic placement of <i>Antarctolichenia</i> was studied using three rDNA molecular markers and morphological characters were described. In this study, we also reappraise the evolution and the connections linking the lichen-forming and rock-inhabiting lifestyles in the basal lineages of <i>Arthoniomycetes</i> (i.e., <i>Lichenostigmatales</i>) and <i>Dothideomycetes</i>. |
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