Summary
The presence of free‐living Trebouxia and/or Pseudotrebouxia is documented. Several free‐living phycobionts were brought into culture and compared to the cultured Xanthoria parietina phycobiont. With the aid of both morphological and immunological criteria, we provide evidence that both the mycobiont and phycobiont of X. parietina can be found free‐living in nature. The potential for resynthesis between bionts under natural conditions is discussed.
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