Abstract
Lichens are generally considered as mutualisms between fungi and green algae or cyanobacteria. These partnerships allow light-exposed and long-living joint structures. The unique organization of lichens provides still unexplored environments for microbial communities. To study lichen-associated bacterial communities, we analyze samples, by a polyphasic approach, from three lichen species (Cladonia arbuscula, Lecanora polytropa and Umbilicaria cylindrica) from alpine environments. Our results indicate that bacteria can form highly structured, biofilm-like assemblages on fungal surfaces and reach considerable abundances of up to 10 8 cells per gram fresh weight. Fluorescence in situ hybridization reveals the predominance of Alphaproteobacteria. Microbial fingerprints performed by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis using universal and group-specific primers show distinct patterns for …
Originalsprache | englisch |
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Seiten (von - bis) | 1105-1115 |
Fachzeitschrift | The ISME Journal |
Jahrgang | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 25 Juni 2009 |
Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)
- Basic - Fundamental (Grundlagenforschung)