Variation in thallus morphology in response to climatic and geographical distribution in an Usnea complex

Abstract

Molecular biological techniques now provide many opportunities for determining relationships between organisms. In lichen-forming fungi, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification can be undertaken with primers that have enhanced specificity for fungi, allowing the recovery of precise regions of the genome of the fungal partner. Such PCR techniques are suitable for the analysis of both fresh and dried specimens of great age, and as the techniques require only minimal amounts of starting material, they are suitable for the analysis of large numbers of specimens. PCR can be used to examine both conserved and variable regions of the fungal genome that may be taxonomically significant, and variability in these sequences can be used to describe species boundaries. The ease of analysis of large numbers of specimens without the need to purify or culture the fungal partner makes analysis and comparison of infra-and inter-specific relationships possible, and provides valuable information into their genetic background. Most molecular analyses undertaken with lichen-forming fungi have considered variation within ribosomal RNA clusters, and in this paper we consider the application and interpretation of such PCR-based analysis in the circumscription of species and in determining concepts for individuality and infra-specific groupings.

The genus Usnea: a potent phytomedicine with multifarious ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology

“…U. undulata is found in South and East Africa. [39][40][41] U. longissima is distributed throughout the Northern temperate zones, such as the sub-arctic and the coastal rainforests of Europe, Asia and North America. 41,42 In India, the species is distributed in North-Eastern Himalayan regions between 1500-4000 m altitudes in moist old mixed forests of Quercus and Pinus.…”

A revised checklist of the Tasmanian lichen flora

“…Literature pertaining to Tasmanian lichens (see also McCarthy 1992) was reviewed briefly by Wetmore (1963) and subsequently by Kantvilas (1989). Since that time, new taxa from Tasmania have been described in the genera Arthonia (Kantvilas & Vezda 1992, Wedin 1993a), Arthothelium (Kantvilas «& Vezda 1992), Austropeltum (Henssen et al 1992), Bactrospora (Egea & Torrente 1993), Canoparmelia{E\ix 1993), Chiodecton {Thor 1990), D/Z>am (Gierl & Kalb 1993), Diptoicia (Elix et al 1988), Gyalideopsis (Kantvilas & Vezda 1992), Hypogymnia (Elix & Jenkins 1 989), Laurera (McCarthy & Kantvilas 1 993a), Lecanactis (Kantvilas & Vezda 1992), Leptogium (Verdon 1990), Micarea (Coppins & Kantvilas 1990), Menegazzia (James & Galloway 1992), Neofuscelia (Kantvilas & Elix 1 992) , Pannaria and Parmeliella (Jorgensen & Galloway 1 992), Pertusaria (Kantvilas 1990b, Archer 1991a, Archer & Elix 1992, Porma (McCarthy 1990, McCarthy & Kantvilas 1993b), Roccellinastrum (Kantvilas 1990a), Sphaerophorus (Kantvilas & Wedin 1992), Thelenella (Mayrhofer & McCarthy 1991), Siphulastrum (Jorgensen & Galloway 1992), Siphulella , Usnea (Stevens 1992), Verrucaria (McCarthy 1991a) and Xanthoparmelia (Elix 1993) .…”