Long-term consequences of disturbances on reproductive strategies of the rare epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria: clonality a gift and a curse

FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Garima SinghChristoph Scheidegger

Abstract

The effect of disturbance on symbiotic organisms such as lichens is particularly severe. In case of heterothallic lichen-forming fungi, disturbances may lead to unbalanced gene frequency and patchy distribution of mating types, thus inhibiting sexual reproduction and imposing clonality. The impact of disturbance on reproductive strategies and genetic diversity of clonal systems has so far received little attention. To infer the effects of disturbances on mating-type allele frequencies and population structure, we selected three populations in the Parc Jurassien Vaudois (Switzerland), which were affected by uneven-aged forestry, intensive logging and fire, respectively. We used microsatellite markers to infer genetic diversity, allelic richness and clonal diversity of the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria and used L. pulmonaria-specific MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 markers to analyse the frequency and distribution of mating types of 889 individuals. Our study shows that stand-replacing disturbances affect the mating-type frequency and distribution, thus compromising the potential for sexual reproduction. The fire-disturbed area had a significantly lower genetic and genotypic diversity and a higher clonality. Furthermore, the majority of ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 8, 2017·The New Phytologist·Cecilia RonnåsTord Snäll
Sep 12, 2017·The New Phytologist·Francesco Dal GrandeImke Schmitt
Feb 5, 2019·Genome Biology and Evolution·David PizarroPradeep Kumar Divakar
Jan 30, 2021·American Journal of Botany·Marta Alonso-GarcíaJuan Carlos Villarreal A
Feb 18, 2020·Journal of Environmental Management·Nikki Leanne PhairSophie von der Heyden

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