Biodiversity Patterns and Ecological Preferences of the Photobionts Associated With the Lichen-Forming Genus Parmelia

The worldwide, ecologically relevant lichen-forming genusParmeliacurrently includes 41 accepted species, of which theParmelia sulcatagroup (PSULgp) and theParmelia saxatilisgroup (PSAXgp) have received considerable attention over recent decades; however, phycobiont diversity is poorly known inParmelias. lat. Here, we studied the diversity ofTrebouxiamicroalgae associated with 159 thalli collected from 30 locations, including nineParmeliaspp.:P. barrenoae, P. encryptata, P. ernstiae, P. mayi, P. omphalodes, P. saxatilis, P. serrana, P. submontana, andP. sulcata. The mycobionts were studied by carrying out phylogenetic analyses of the nrITS. Microalgae genetic diversity was examined by using …