The adaptive radiation of lichen-forming Teloschistaceae is associated with sunscreening pigments and a bark-to-rock substrate shift
Abstract
The tempo of diversification of life can be accelerated by fortuitous ecological opportunity or by phenotypic innovation. In this study, we document how both factors are likely to have played a role in the origin and success of a major fungal lineage, the Teloschistaceae (comprising ∼1% of all fungi). Anthraquinone pigments are found in a widespread, but scattered, range of fungi and plants, but are particularly abundant in the lichen-forming Teloschistaceae, where they provide sunlight protection, especially needed when growing in arid deserts of the world. We found that anthraquinones evolved in these lichens, in conjunction with an ecological switch to exposed, rocky environments, allowing them to colonize swathes of unexploited habitats worldwide and sparking an acceleration in diversification.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- September 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1507072112
- Bibcode:
- 2015PNAS..11211600G