A Fourier Transform-Raman Spectroscopic Study of Lichen Strategies on Granite Monuments

The biodeterioration of granite by Lecidea fuscoatra (L.) Ach., Porpidia cinereoatra (Ach.) Hertel & Knoph, and P. macrocarpa (DC.) Hertel & Schwab growing in the same environmental conditions has been studied by using Fourier transform-Raman spectroscopy. Results were significantly different for the three species, with P. cinereoatra being the most active biodeteriorative lichen. This lichen was also the only one in which calcium oxalate and gypsum were identified spectroscopically. Physical disturbances to the substratum were evidenced in all lichens studied by the incoporation of material, such as quartz and feldspar, into their thalli, but this phenomenon varied considerably from species to species. The results indicate that lichen species can adopt different strategies and can have different biodeteriorative effects on granite, independently of environmental conditions and substrate.     

Lipid and Fatty Acid Composition of Tree-Growing and Terrestrial Lichens

A comparison of lipid and fatty acid composition was made of the tree-growing lichens Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach., Parmelia saxatilis (L.) Ach. and Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Ach. and the terrestrial species Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. and Cladonia impexa Harm. In the terrestrial species the total lipid content varied strongly during spring, while the tree-growing species showed much less variation. Phospholipid and sterol content of all lichens was unusually low. Monoglycosyl diglyceride was absent from Parmelia saxatilis. Fatty acids common to higher plants as palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acid were invariably present in all lichen species. In addition large quantities of extra-long chain fatty acids like behenic acid, eicosadienoic acid and cyclic aliphatic lichen acids were present in the terrestrial species. The degree of (poly) unsaturation decreased in the order Evernia prunastri, Parmelia saxatilis. Fatty acids common to higher plants as palmitic, stearic, impexa, which decrease was compensated by an increase in extralong chain fatty acids and lichen acids. It is suggested that the lichen acids are of adaptive value for lichen species growing in the terrestrial habitats, which were characterized by extreme diurnal temperature variations. Just as the polyunsaturated fatty acids, lichen acids guarantee at lower temperatures a high flexibility of the membranes involved, at the same time as they are less susceptible to photo-oxidation at the high daytime temperatures.     

ERUMPENT CEPHALODIA,AN APPARENT CASE OF PHYCOBIAL INFLUENCE ON LICHEN MORPHOLOGY1,2,3

On the upper surface of some specimens of the lichen Lobaria cf. crosa (Eschw.) Nyl. there are shrub-like growths which have a morphology similar to that of a free-living fruticose lichen, Polychidium umhausense (Auersw.) Henss., and contain a cyanophyte phycobiont, Nostoc. A few growths also contain scattered colonies of a chlorophyte phycobiont, in which case the lichen tissue locally assumes the foliose form characteristic of the parent Lobaria thallus. The differentiation of dorsiventral lichen cortices and the formation of a lax medulla and distinct algal layer are correlated with the presence of the green phycobiont. The lichen substances atranorin, gyrophoric acid, and 4-0-methylgyrophoric acid occur in both, the foliose L. erosa thallus and the fruticose tissue. It is suggested that the fruticose structures are erumpent cephalodia which are derived from the outgrowth of internal, cephalodia and should not be considered, to be epiphytic colonies of the lichen Polychidium.     

Occurrence and chemical diversity of the genus Bryoria in the Sučí Potok Valley, Veporské Vrchy Mountains (Central Slovakia)

Four species of the genus, Bryoria were found in the Sučí Potok Valley: B. capilaris (Ach.) Brodo & D. Hawksw., B. fuscescens (Gyeln.) Brodo & D. Hawksw., B. implexa (Hoffm.) Brodo & D. Hawksw., B. nadvornikiana (Gyeln.) Brodo & D. Hawksw. The most common species in the valley was B. implexa. Four chemotypes of this lichen were recognized.     

CYANOPHYTE CEPHALODIA IN THE LICHEN GENUS NEPHROMA

The lichens, Nephroma expallidum (Nyl.) Nyl. and N. arcticum (L.) Torss., consistently have at least two symbionts in a single thallus: a green alga in the algal layer and a blue-green alga in the internal cephalodia. The cephalodia originate from algal cells in contact with the lower surface of the lichen, in the zone of rhizine formation. The rhizines surround the epiphytic algal colony and form a second cortical layer; following dissociation of the original lower cortex, further growth of the two organisms results in the cyanophyte colony being enveloped by a compact layer of fungal tissue and positioned in the lichen medulla. The colony may eventually assume a superior or inferior position in relation to the lichen thallus, depending in part on the lichen species. Nephroma anticum may have two distinct morphological forms of blue-green algae in the same thallus and occasionally in the same cephalodium. It appears that the relationship that exists between the cephalodial algae and the lichen thallus is antagonistic and results, in some cases, in the exclusion of the green algal layer and death to the cephalodial cyanophytes.     

Predicting lichen hydration using biophysical models

Two models for predicting the hydration status of lichens were developed as a first step towards a mechanistic lichen productivity model. A biophysical model included the water potential of the air, derived from measurements of air temperature, relative humidity and species-specific rate constants for desiccation and rehydration. A reduced physical model, included only environmental parameters, assuming instantaneous equilibration between the lichen and the air. These models were developed using field and laboratory data for three green algal lichens: the foliose epiphytic Platismatia glauca (L.) W. Culb., the fruticose epiphytic Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. and the fruticose, terricolous and mat-forming Cladina rangiferina (L.) Weber ex Wigg. The models were compared and validated for the same three species using data from a habitat with a different microclimate. Both models predicted the length and timing of lichen hydration periods, with those for A. sarmentosa and P. glauca being highly accurate—nearly 100% of the total wet time was predicted by both the biophysical and physical models. These models also predicted an accurate timing of the total realized wet time for A. sarmentosa and P. glauca when the lichens were wet. The model accuracy was lower for C. rangiferina compared to the epiphytes, both for the total realized wet time and for the accuracy of the timing for the hydration period. These results demonstrate that the stochastic and continually varying hydration status of lichens can be simulated from biophysical data. Further development of these models to also include water-related activity, light and temperature conditions during the hydration events will then be a potent tool to assess potential lichen productivity in landscapes and habitats of various microclimatic conditions.     

Arsenic accumulation and thiol status in lichens exposed to As(V) in controlled conditions

Thalli of epiphytic lichen Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. and terricolous Cladonia furcata (Huds.) Schrad., collected from an area with background arsenic concentrations, were exposed to 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 μg mL⁻¹ arsenate (As(V)) solutions for 24 h. After exposure they were kept in the metabolically active state for 0, 24 and 48 h in a growth chamber. In the freeze dried samples glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulphide (GSSG), cysteine (Cys) and cystine were analysed and induction of phytochelatin (PC) synthesis measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with fluorescence detection or UV spectrometry. Total arsenic content in thalli was measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). In H. physodes, which contained higher amounts of arsenic compared to C. furcata, total glutathione content significantly decreased in samples exposed to 10 μg mL⁻¹ As(V), whereas in C. furcata a significant increase was observed. In both species PC synthesis was induced in thalli exposed to 10 μg mL⁻¹.     

Ecological traits of the lichen flora of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Yugra)

A lichen biodiversity study conducted in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (district) reports 958 species in 199 genera and 72 families. Cetrelia alaskana (Llano) W. L. Culb. et C. F. Culb. is new to West Siberia; Graphis elegans (Borrer ex Sm.) Ach., Porpidia hydrophila (Fr.) Hertel et A. J. Schwab, and Sclerococcum sphaerale (Ach.) Fr. are new to Siberia; Acarospora fusca B. de Lesd., Cliostomum tenerum (Nyl.) Coppins et S. Ekman, Pertusaria corallina (L.) Arnold, and P. stalactiza Nyl. are new to Russia. High diversity of epilithic lichens is ecologically due to a variety of ecotopes that include mountain habitats on the eastern spurs of the Subarctic and Northern Urals in addition to plain ones.     

Fungal-associated NO is involved in the regulation of oxidative stress during rehydration in lichen symbiosis

Background  

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are normally produced in respiratory and photosynthetic electron chains and their production is enhanced during desiccation/rehydration. Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous and multifaceted molecule involved in cell signaling and abiotic stress. Lichens are poikilohydrous organisms that can survive continuous cycles of desiccation and rehydration. Although the production of ROS and NO was recently demonstrated during lichen rehydration, the functions of these compounds are unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of NO during rehydration of the lichen Ramalina farinacea (L.) Ach., its isolated photobiont partner Trebouxia sp. and Asterochloris erici (Ahmadjian) Skaloud et Peksa (SAG 32.85 = UTEX 911).     

Will climate warming exceed lethal photosynthetic temperature thresholds of lichens in a southern African arid region?

Predicted elevated temperatures and a shift from a winter to summer rainfall pattern associated with global warming could result in the exposure of hydrated lichens during summer to more numerous temperature extremes that exceed their thermal thresholds. This hypothesis was tested by measuring lethal temperature thresholds under laboratory and natural conditions for four epilithic lichen species (Xanthoparmelia austro‐africana, X. hyporhytida, Xanthoparmelia sp., Xanthomaculina hottentotta) occurring on quartz gravel substrates at a hot arid inland site two epigeous lichen species (Teloschistes capensis, Ramalina sp.) occurring on gypsum‐rich topsoil at a warm humid coastal site. Extrapolated lethal temperatures for photosynthetic quantum yield under laboratory conditions were up to 4°C higher for lichens from a dry inland site than those from a humid coastal site. Lethal temperatures extrapolated for photosynthetic quantum yield at a saturating photosynthetic photon flux density of ≥11,000 μmol photons m^?2 s^?1 under natural conditions were up to 6°C higher for lichens from the dry inland site than the more humid coastal site. It is concluded that only under atypical conditions of lichen exposure in a hydrated state to temperature extremes at high midday solar irradiances during summer could lethal photosynthetic thresholds in sensitive lichen species be potentially exceeded, but whether the increased frequency of such conditions with climate warming would lead to increased likelihood of lichen mortality is debatable.     

Does the lichen mat alleviate the effects of wet deposited nickel on soil microorganisms and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings?

A field experiment was conducted in a dry heath forest dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and a mat-forming lichen (Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo) to assess the effect of wet-deposited nickel (Ni) on pine seedlings and soil microorganisms, and to explore whether an intact lichen mat could act as a buffer against heavy metal deposits. Pine seedlings were planted in quadrats covered by a natural lichen layer and in quadrats from which the lichen layer had been completely removed. The quadrats were exposed to four levels of Ni deposition: 0 (i.e., distilled water), 10, 100 and 1000 mg m^–2 year^–1 in two growing seasons. Increasing Ni deposition led to an increase in the Ni content of the needles, roots and the soil organic layer. The lichen mat reduced Ni flow to the organic soil layer, but had no significant, reducing effect on needle or root Ni concentration. The most severe Ni treatment had detrimental effects on seedling growth and increased peroxidase activity in the previous years needles. Removal of the lichen layer did not increase susceptibility of seedlings to Ni. Values of maximal carbon use efficiency (Max) and metabolic quotient (qCO₂) of the soil microorganisms indicated protective value of the lichen mat to soil microorganisms at the highest Ni treatment. Skimming per se decreased basal respiration, qCO₂ and concentrations of potassium in the soil and also increased the lag period of the microorganisms as a response to in situ substrate addition.     

Changes in the content of individual lipid classes of a lichen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Peltigera aphthosa</Emphasis> during dehydration and subsequent rehydration

A lichen Peltigera aphthosa (L.) Willd. was subjected to a short-term (7 days) or a long-term (180 and 540 days) dehydration followed by rehydration. Then the composition and content of lipids, as well as the rate of their metabolism (the rate of sodium 2-¹⁴C-acetate incorporation) were investigated. The long-term dehydration resulted in a dramatic decrease in the content (per dry wt) of major extrachloroplastic phospholipids, mainly phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines. The rehydration of lichen thalli after a short-term and long-term dehydration also resulted in an enhanced breakdown of these lipid molecules; however, it was accompanied by their rather intense in vivo synthesis, which was decreased after long-term dehydration. In contrast to phospholipids, the betaine lipids, diacylglyceroltrimethylhomoserines (DGTSs), were involved in metabolic processes to a far lesser extent. In the course of rehydration, their content was virtually unchanged and decreased only after 540 days of dehydration. The rate of incorporation of sodium 2-¹⁴C-acetate into the DGTS molecules was moderate and did not change even after long-term dehydration. Glycolipids were characterized by a fair tolerance to hydrolytic processes and by an increase in the rate of their synthesis after 540 days of the lichen dehydration. Responses of neutral lipids to dehydration turned out to be different. The long-term dehydration (for 540 days) was accompanied by a decrease in the contents of free sterols and sterol esters, whereas the contents of di- and triacylglycerols remained unchanged. Rehydration resulted in a decrease in diacylglycerol and sterol ester contents. All neutral lipids were characterized by a dramatic decrease in the rate of de novo synthesis after long-term dehydration. It was suggested that the tolerance of lichen to long-term dehydration was appreciably determined by the tolerance of its phycobiont, in this case, a green alga Coccomyxa sp.; the bulk of its lipids was characterized by a minimum rate of breakdown and, at the same time, by a stable synthesis.Translated from Fiziologiya Rastenii, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2005, pp. 43–50.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kotlova, Sinyutina.     

新疆准噶尔盆地南缘土壤生物结皮中地衣物种组成和分布

对新疆准噶尔盆地沙漠南缘土壤生物结皮中地衣种类及分布特征进行了初步研究。结果表明,该地区参与土壤生物结皮的有藓生双缘衣（Diploschistes muscorum（Schreb．）Norm．]、拟橙衣（Fulgensia bracteata（Hoffm．）Raws．]、丽石黄衣[Xanthoria elegans（Link）Th．Fr]、准噶尔橙衣（Caloplaca songoricumA．Abbas）和磷网衣[Psora decipiens（Ehrh．）Hoffm．]等13种地衣,分别属于5目10科。对其分布特征进行了分析,发现地衣的分布与苔藓有相关性;地衣的分布受到环境温度、太阳辐射强度和降水量等因素的影响。聚类分析结果表明,24个样方可分为3组,分别分布于沙丘底部、顶部和中部,其中分布于沙丘底部的样方地衣种类的多样性最高。     

Litterfall of epiphytic macrolichens in Nothofagus forests of northern Patagonia,Argentina: Relation to stand age and precipitation

Abstract: The objective of this study was to analyse how stand age and precipitation influence abundance and diversity of epiphytic macrolichens in southern beech Nothofagus forests, estimated by lichen litter sampling. Five sites of Nothofagus dombeyi (Mirbel) Oersted were selected in Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina. At each site, lichen fragments from the forest floor were collected at 12.5 m² plots in pairs of young and mature N. dombeyi forest. Additionally, two sites with multi‐aged subalpine Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. et Endl.) Krasser forest were investigated in a similar manner. Average litterfall biomass per stand varied from less than 1 kg ha^?1 in a young low‐precipitation stand to a maximum of 20 kg ha^?1 in a mature high‐precipitation stand. In places with higher precipitation, litterfall biomass in N. dombeyi forest was considerably higher in old stands as compared with young ones. In places with less than 2000 mm of precipitation, differences in biomass were less pronounced. Old humid stands contained about twice as many taxa in the litter as old low‐precipitation stands and young stands in general. Mature stands in low‐precipitation sites only contained 17% of the litter biomass as compared with mature stands in high‐precipitation sites. Epiphytic lichen composition changed from predominating fruticose lichens (Usnea spp. and Protousnea spp.) in low‐precipitation stands to Pseudocyphellaria spp., Nephroma spp. and other foliose lichens, in the high‐precipitation stands. There were no clear differences in the proportion of fruticose and foliose lichens between young and old stands. Fruticose lichens dominated litter biomass in both N. pumilio sites.     

SOME NEW AND INTERESTING SPECIES OF TREBOUXIA,A GENUS OF LICHENIZED ALGAE

Ahmadjian , Vernon . (Clark U., Worcester, Mass.) Some new and interesting species of Trebouxia, a genus of lichenized algae. Amer. Jour. Bot. 47 (8): 677–683. Illus. 1960.—Four species of the phycobiont Trebouxia, 3 of which are new, have been described in this paper. On the basis of this study, the algal genus has been divided into 2 main groups depending on the position that the chromatophore assumes during its bipartitions and on the shape of the cells. Growth rates have been calculated and growth curves drawn for the various species. In some cases, a physiological difference was shown between morphologically identical forms. In several instances, the same algal symbiont was isolated from widely separated lichen species, a fact which is contrary to earlier claims of the high specificity of the lichen fungus to its algal component.     

Ecological investigations on lichen fields of the Central Namib

Number, geographic location, extent and characteristics of lichen fields were recorded within the Central Namib fog desert. Their occurrence is restricted to stable surfaces in the near coastal belt, while percentage cover changes with exposure, elevation and distance from the coastline. Maximum coverage of 70% was found at a distance of 5 km from the coast near Wlotzkas Baken. The highest biomass rate of 400 mg/m² was measured here at a distance of 1 km from the coast, where Teloschistes capensis appears as cushion growth type. Distribution patterns on hills, riverbeds and polygon structures are described. In general, fruticose and foliose lichens dominate on SW-exposed, ocean-facing habitats. Crustose species dominate on NE-E-exposed plots.Species composition and distribution, particularly the distribution of the fruticose species T. capensis (L. f.) Vain. ex Müll. Arg., were investigated in seventysix plots along twenty W-E transects in one lichen field near Wlotzkas Baken. T. capensis occurs in three different growth types: tuft, cushion and mat. Four zones are distinguished within the above lichen field, each dominated by a growth form indicating various influences of different climatic, geomorphic or biogenic parameters.     

Lichen chemistry and selective grazing by the coleopteran Lasioderma serricorne

Part of the Lichenological Herbarium of the University of Trieste (TSB) was infested by Lasioderma serricorne, a polyphagus coleopteran. 1440 samples of 50 lichen species with different chemistry (Parmelia s.lat., Physcia s.lat.) were analyzed in order to assess whether the lichen diet of the insect was species- and especially lichen-chemistry-selective. Multivariate analysis indicates a significant negative correlation between the presence of some lichen substances and grazing phenomena. Atranorin, calcium oxalate, fumarprotocetraric acid, gyrophoric acid, lecanoric acid, skyrin, usnic acid and zeorin play an antiherbivorous role.     

Lobodirin: Ein neues chromonglucosid aus Lobodirina cerebriformis

From the lichen Lobodirina cerebriformis (Mont.) Follm. Roccellaceae) a new chromone glucoside lobodirin (I) has been isolated. The structure, 7-0-β-d-triacetylglucosyl-isoeugenitol, was established by hydrolysis to glucose isoeugenitol by synthesis of acetyllobodirin from α-acetobromoglucose and isoeugenitol with subsequent acetylation.     

An in vitro method for establishing mycorrhizae on coniferous tree seedlings

Summary A method for in vitro synthesis of mycorrhizae on coniferous tree seedlings is described. Tree seedlings (Larix decidua Mill., Picea abies (L.) Karst, and Pinus sylvestris L.) and fungi Amanita muscaria (L. ex Fr.) Hooker, Piloderma croceum Erikss. et Hjorst., Pisolithus tinctorius (Pers.) Coker et Couch, and Suillus grevillei (Klotzsch) Singer were maintained under sterile conditions in petri dishes. Typical ectomycorrhizae were established within 2–3 weeks after inoculation and within 2 months after germination of seedlings. Eventually a high percentage of mycorrhizal root tips was obtained.     

新疆泡鳞衣属地衣的研究

该文采用形态解剖、化学及生态等传统分类方法,以及显色反应(CT)、薄层层析(TLC)等生物化学方法,对新疆天山南麓巴音布鲁克山区和天山中部米泉哈熊沟泡鳞衣属地衣进行了分类学研究,并鉴定采样区泡鳞衣属的地衣种类。结果表明:共鉴定出似皮革泡鳞衣Toninia alutacea(Anzi)Jatta、兰黑泡鳞衣T.caeruleonigricans(Lightf.)Th.Fr.、白泡鳞衣T.candida(Weber)Th.Fr.、泡状泡鳞衣T.physaroides(Opiz)Zahlbr.、暗色泡鳞衣中亚亚种T.tristis subsp.asiae-centralis(H.Magn.)Timdal等5个种,其中2个为中国新记录种:似皮革泡鳞衣T.alutacea和泡状泡鳞衣T.physaroides;同时描述了5个种的形态解剖特征、化学特征及其生境,并提供了相关彩色图片和新疆泡鳞衣属地衣检索表。研究结果可为新疆地衣的研究提供实验数据,为中国泡鳞衣属研究提供科学依据。