First genome-wide analysis of an endangered lichen reveals isolation by distance and strong population structure

Allen, Jessica L.; McKenzie, Sean K.; Sleith, Robin S.; Alter, S. Elizabeth

doi:10.1101/237164

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(87 reference statements)

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“…Regarding the genetic isolation among lineages, the number of variant sites was always higher than the number of SNPs (Table 2), meaning higher genetic diversity among lineages than within them (Allen et al, 2018). Here, we considered Fst values over 0.25 as having pronounced levels of genetic differentiation (Freeland et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genomics of a reindeer lichen species from North American lichen woodlands

Alonso-García

Grewe

Payette

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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Lichens are one of the main structural components of plant communities in the North American boreal biome. They play a pivotal role in lichen woodlands, a large ecosystem situated north of the closed-crown forest zone, and south of the forest-tundra zone. In Eastern Canada (Quebec), there is a remnant LW found 500 km south of its usual distribution range, in the Parc National des Grands-Jardins, originated mainly because of wildfires. We inferred the origin of the lichen Cladonia stellaris from this LW and assessed its genetic diversity in a postfire succession. METHODS: We genotyped 122 individuals collected across a latitudinal gradient in Quebec. Using the software Stacks, we compared four different approaches of locus selection and single-nucleotide polymorphism calling. We identified the best fitting approach to investigate population structure and estimate genetic diversity of C. stellaris. RESULTS: Populations in southern Quebec are not genetically different from those of northern LWs. The species consists of at least four phylogenetic lineages with elevated levels of genetic diversity and low co-ancestry. In Parc National des Grands-Jardins, we reported high values of genetic diversity not related with time since fire disturbance and low genetic differentiation among populations with different fire histories. CONCLUSIONS: This first population genomic study of C. stellaris is an important step forward to understand the origin and biogeographic patterns of lichen woodlands in North America. Our findings also contribute to the understanding of the effect of postfire succession on the genetic structure of the species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genomics of a reindeer lichen species from North American lichen woodlands

Alonso-García

Grewe

Payette

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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“…On the other hand, the effects of the geographic distance (IBD) and environmental difference (IBE) on the population differentiation were not detected in the S. multiformis populations. The IBD pattern has been found depending on the lichen species; Cetradonia linearis, Parmelina carporrhizans , and Parmelina tiliacea showed IBD patterns [17,18,70]. The different pattern of IBD may be associated with dispersal mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of Foliicolous Lichen Strigula and Genetic Structure of S. multiformis on Jeju Island, South Korea

Woo

Hur

2019

Microorganisms

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Strigula is a pantropic foliicolous lichen living on the leaf surfaces of evergreen broadleaf plants. In South Korea, Strigula is the only genus of foliicolous lichen recorded from Jeju Island. Several Strigula species have been recorded, but the ecology of Strigula in South Korea has been largely unexplored. This study examined the distribution and genetic structure of Strigula on Jeju Island. The distribution was surveyed and the influence of environmental factors (e.g., elevation, forest availability, and bioclimate) on the distribution was analyzed using a species distribution modeling analysis. In addition, the genetic variations and differentiation of Strigula multiformis populations were analyzed using two nuclear ribosomal regions. The distribution of Strigula was largely restricted to a small portion of forest on Jeju Island, and the forest availability was the most important factor in the prediction of potential habitats. The genetic diversity and differentiation of the S. multiformis population were found to be high and were divided according to geography. On the other hand, geographic and environmental distance did not explain the population differentiation. Distribution and population genetic analysis suggested that the available habitat and genetic exchange of Strigula on Jeju Island are limited by the lack of available forest in the lowlands.

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“…The size of high-severity burn patches in this study system has increased in recent decades (Steel et al, 2015;Steel, Koontz, & Safford, 2018), and seed limitation in the core area of these high-severity burn patches (far from living trees) is known to cause tree recruitment failure (Welch et al, 2016), suggesting that propagules of other tree-associated organisms could be limited as well. Indeed, previous research has indicated that dispersal limitation can be important in determining lichen distributions (Allen, McKenzie, Sleith, & Alter, 2017;Muir, Rambo, Kimmerer, & Keon, 2006). The symbiotic nature of lichens may make them especially sensitive to dispersal limitation, at least for species that reproduce sexually (producing fungal spores), as both the fungal and algal partners must arrive at a site for lichen establishment to occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altered fire regimes cause long‐term lichen diversity losses

Miller

Root

Safford

2018

Global Change Biology

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Many global ecosystems have undergone shifts in fire regimes in recent decades, such as changes in fire size, frequency, and/or severity. Recent research shows that increases in fire size, frequency, and severity can lead to long-persisting deforestation, but the consequences of shifting fire regimes for biodiversity of other vegetative organisms (such as understory plants, fungi, and lichens) remain poorly understood. Understanding lichen responses to wildfire is particularly important because lichens play crucial roles in nutrient cycling and supporting wildlife in many ecosystems. Lichen responses to fire have been little studied, and most previous research has been limited to small geographic areas (e.g. studies of a single fire), making it difficult to establish generalizable patterns. To investigate long-term effects of fire severity on lichen communities, we sampled epiphytic lichen communities in 104 study plots across California's greater Sierra Nevada region in areas that burned in five wildfires, ranging from 4 to 16 years prior to sampling. The conifer forest ecosystems we studied have undergone a notable increase in fire severity in recent decades, and we sample across the full gradient of fire severity to infer how shifting fire regimes may influence landscape-level biodiversity. We find that low-severity fire has little to no effect on lichen communities. Areas that burned at moderate and high severities, however, have significantly and progressively lower lichen richness and abundance. Importantly, we observe very little postfire lichen recolonization on burned substrates even more than 15 years after fire. Our multivariate model suggests that the hotter, drier microclimates that occur after fire removes forest canopies may prevent lichen reestablishment, meaning that lichens are not likely to recolonize until mature trees regenerate. These findings suggest that altered fire regimes may cause broad and long-persisting landscape-scale biodiversity losses that could ultimately impact multiple trophic levels.

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First genome-wide analysis of an endangered lichen reveals isolation by distance and strong population structure

Cited by 9 publications

References 82 publications

Population genomics of a reindeer lichen species from North American lichen woodlands

Population genomics of a reindeer lichen species from North American lichen woodlands

Distribution of Foliicolous Lichen Strigula and Genetic Structure of S. multiformis on Jeju Island, South Korea

Altered fire regimes cause long‐term lichen diversity losses

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