Microsatellite loci in two epiphytic lichens with contrasting dispersal modes: Nephroma laevigatum and N. parile (Nephromataceae)

Abstract

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were characterized for two epiphytic cyanolichens, Nephroma laevigatum and N. parile (Nephromataceae), and will be used to investigate population structure and estimate gene flow among populations of these two closely related species with contrasting dispersal modes.• Methods and Results: Twelve and 14 microsatellite loci were characterized for N. laevigatum and N. parile, respectively. Allele number in N. laevigatum ranged from three to 13 per locus, while in N. parile there were from two to six alleles per locus. As expected, the sexually reproducing N. laevigatum had higher genetic diversity than the predominantly asexual N. parile.• Conclusions: This new set of markers is suitable for studying population structure and providing insights into gene flow among populations and for understanding processes of diversification. Compared between the species, they will facilitate an understanding of the influence of contrasting reproductive strategies on population and community structure.

Polymorphic fungus-specific microsatellite markers ofBactrospora dryinareveal multiple colonizations of trees

“…A Mantel test indicated a significant isolation-by-distance among the localities, which are 50-80 km apart, suggesting limited gene flow between them. Similar results have been shown for populations of other sexually reproducing lichens (Belinchón et al 2014) and for species with combined reproductive strategies (Printzen & Ekman 2003). The ascospores of B. dryina are small phragmospores (Egea & Torrente 1993;Wirth et al 2013) capable of breaking apart when leaving the ascus.…”

“…The maximum number of alleles of the most variable marker found in the 264 specimens analyzed was five. This is considerably lower than the 11 alleles found in Lobaria pindarensis (Devkota et al 2014), 13 in both Nephroma laevigatum (Belinchón et al 2014) and Bryoria section Implexae (Nadyeina et al 2014a), 15 in Usnea subfloridana (Tõrra et al 2014) and 16 in Lobaria pulmonaria (Walser et al 2003;Werth et al 2013). However, the values are comparable to the three alleles found in Parmotrema tinctorum (Mansournia et al 2012), six in both Nephroma parile (Belinchón et al 2014) and Protoparmeliopsis muralis (Guzow-Krzemińska & Stocker-Wörgötter 2013) and eight in Lobarina scrobiculata (Prieto et al 2015).…”

“…Conidia, which are formed in pycnidia, might also play an important role in dispersal, although germination of conidia has never been tested for this species. Partial selfing may also explain the low numbers of alleles discussed above: Belinchón et al (2014) reported that the sexually reproducing Nephroma laevigatum had a higher genetic diversity than the predominantly asexual N. parile.…”

“…In lichen-forming fungi, symbiont-specific microsatellite markers facilitate the investigation of dispersal distances, recent colonization events at various spatial scales (Werth et al 2006b), past population bottlenecks (Nadyeina et al 2014b) and phylogeographical patterns (Scheidegger et al 2012;Widmer et al 2012;Sork & Werth 2014). Moreover, molecular markers help to clarify the reproductive mode (Walser et al 2003(Walser et al , 2004Mansournia et al 2012;Singh et al 2012) and dispersal strategies of lichenforming fungi (Werth et al 2006a;Belinchón et al 2014). In this paper, we aimed to 1) develop highly variable molecular markers for the mycobiont of B. dryina, 2) establish a sampling design for further population genetics studies of this habitat specialist lichen, and 3) test if the degree of polymorphism of the newly developed markers provides the information necessary to compare genetic diversity and levels of differentiation at the tree, stand and landscape levels.…”

High-Throughput Sequencing in Studies of Lichen Population Biology

“…Lately, studies of fungal and algal clones have also been undertaken, in order to study the fundamental processes shaping the genetic variability of lichen populations . Microsatellites have helped to establish a body of population genetic data for Lobaria pulmonaria and Magain et al 2010;Nadyeina et al 2014a;Tõrra et al 2014, Belinchón et al 2014. Microsatellites have played an important role in the emergence of lichen model systems, with the beststudied case being L. pulmonaria.…”