Search

In this study, we investigated the effects of shock freezing on physiological properties and consequent growth of in the Antarctic alga Stigeoclonium sp. and comparative coccal alga Diplosphaera chodatii on agar plates. Culture of algae grown in liquid medium were used to study subzero temperatures on the species resistance to shock freezing. Then, microalgae were frozen in liquid nitrogen and inoculated on BBM agar after thawing. Physiological status of algae was evaluated by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters during 28 days. The results showed that interspecific differences existed in their tolerance to shock freezing, as well as their consequent growth rate on agars. Direct effects of freezing in liquid nitrogen was demonstrated in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters recorded immediately after thawing the samples (in liquid medium). In spite of the fact that majority of cells was destroyed by shock freezing, the potential of photochemical processes in PS II (FV/FM) remained constant in D. chodatii. It may indicate high resistance of the species to freezing/thawing cycles and a capability of the surviving cells, core chlorophylls in PS II respectively, to perform photosynthetic processes related to PS II. Contrastingly, Stigeoclonium sp. showed a shock freezing-dependent decrease in FV/FM. When shock-frozen, thawed and inoculated on agar plates, the culture of D. chodatii, and Stigeoclonium sp. showed cultivation time-dependent increase in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (FV/FM, FS).

Background Landscape genetics is an interdisciplinary field that combines tools and techniques from population genetics with the spatially explicit principles from landscape ecology. Spatial variation in genotypes is used to test hypotheses about how landscape pattern affects dispersal in a wide range of taxa. Lichens, symbiotic associations between mycobionts and photobionts, are an entity for which little is known about their dispersal mechanism. Our objective was to infer the dispersal mechanism in the semi-aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum using spatial models and the spatial variation of the photobiont, Diplosphaera chodatii. We sequenced the ITS rDNA and the β-actin gene regions of the photobiont and mapped the haplotype spatial distribution in Payuk Lake. We subdivided Payuk Lake into subpopulations and applied four spatial models based on the topography and hydrology to infer the dispersal mechanism. Results Genetic variation corresponded with the topography of the lake and the net flow of water through the waterbody. A lack of isolation-by-distance suggests high gene flow or dispersal within the lake. We infer the dispersal mechanism in D. luridum could either be by wind and/or water based on the haplotype spatial distribution of its photobiont using the ITS rDNA and β-actin markers. Conclusions We inferred that the dispersal mechanism could be either wind and/or water dispersed due to the conflicting interpretations of our landscape hypotheses. This is the first study to use spatial modelling to infer dispersal in semi-aquatic lichens. The results of this study may help to understand lichen dispersal within aquatic landscapes, which can have implications in the conservation of rare or threatened lichens.