Relative symbiont input and the lichen symbiotic outcome

The term symbiosis was first used in biology to describe the ‘living together’ of fungi and algae in lichens. For much of the 20th century, the fungal partner was assumed to be invested with the ability to produce the lichen body plan in presence of a photosynthesizing partner. However, studies of fungal evolution have uncovered discordance between lichen symbiotic outcomes and genome evolution of the fungus. At the same time, evidence has emerged that the structurally important lichen cortex contains lichen-specific, single-celled microbes, suggesting it may function like a biofilm. Together, these observations suggest we may not have a complete overview of symbiotic interactions in lichens. Understanding phenotype development and evolution in lichens will require greater insight into fungal–fungal and fungal–bacterial interplay and the physical properties of the cortex.