Novel lichen-dominated hypolithic communities in the Namib Desert

dc.contributor.authorDe los Rios, Asuncion
dc.contributor.authorGarrido‑Benavent, Isaac
dc.contributor.authorLimon, Alicia
dc.contributor.authorCason, Errol D.
dc.contributor.authorMaggs‑Kolling, Gillian
dc.contributor.authorCowan, Don A.
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-19T13:59:03Z
dc.date.available2022-05-19T13:59:03Z
dc.date.issued2022-05
dc.description.abstractThe ventral surfaces of translucent rocks from hot desert pavements often harbor hypolithic microbial communities, which are mostly dominated by cyanobacteria. The Namib Desert fog belt supports extensive hypolithic colonization of quartz rocks, which are also colonized by lichens on their dorsal surfaces. Here, we aim to evaluate whether lichens colonize the ventral surface of the rocks (i.e., show hypolithic lifestyle) and compare the bacterial composition of these coastal hypolithic communities with those found inland. Fungal DNA barcoding and fungal and bacterial Illumina metabarcoding were combined with electron microscopy to characterize the composition and spatial structure of hypolithic communities from two (coastal and inland) areas in the Namib Desert. We report, for the first time, the structure and composition of lichen-dominated hypolithic communities found in the coastal zone of the Namib Desert with extensive epilithic lichen cover. Lichen modified areoles with inverted morphology of the genus Stellarangia (three lineages) and Buellia (two lineages) were the main components of these hypolithic communities. Some of these lineages were also found in epilithic habitats. These lichen-dominated hypolithic communities differed in structural organization and bacterial community composition from those found in inland areas. The hypolithic lichen colonization characterized here seems not to be an extension of epilithic or biological soil crust lichen growths but the result of specific sublithic microenvironmental conditions. Moisture derived from fog and dew could be the main driver of this unique colonization.en_US
dc.description.departmentBiochemistryen_US
dc.description.departmentGeneticsen_US
dc.description.departmentMicrobiology and Plant Pathologyen_US
dc.description.librarianam2022en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. DC acknowledges the financial support of the University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. AV was supported by the project “CLU-2019–05 – IRNASA/CSIC Unit of Excellence,” funded by the Junta de Castilla y León and co-financed by the European Union (ERDF “Europe drives our growth”). This work was supported by grants CTM2015-64728-C2- 2-R (MINECO/FEDER, EU) and PID2019-105469RB-C22 (MICINN).en_US
dc.description.urihttp://link.springer.com/journal/248en_US
dc.identifier.citationDe los Ríos, A., Garrido-Benavent, I., Limón, A. et al. Novel lichen-dominated hypolithic communities in the Namib Desert. Microb Ecol 83, 1036–1048 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01812-w.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0095-3628 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1432-184X (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1007/s00248-021-01812-w
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85583
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSpringeren_US
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_US
dc.subjectCyanobacteriaen_US
dc.subjectLichensen_US
dc.subjectLithobiontsen_US
dc.subjectHabitat specificityen_US
dc.subjectDewen_US
dc.subjectFogen_US
dc.subjectStellarangiaen_US
dc.subjectBuelliaen_US
dc.titleNovel lichen-dominated hypolithic communities in the Namib Deserten_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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