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Abstract Detail

Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Larsen, Ellen [1], Anstett, Daniel [2], O’Brien, Heath [3], McMullin, R. Troy [4], Fortin, Marie-Josée [2].

Landscape genetics on a small scale reveals surprisingly long Peltigera gene trees.

How is lichen genetic diversity distributed over landscapes? Most studies sample lichens over distances of hundreds to thousands of kilometres, but do not focus on distributions at shorter distances. In this study we sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) totalling 113 samples of three Peltigera species at spatial scales from 20 cm to 3.7km. Our data suggest expected short-range dispersal (auto-correlation), but also unsuspected genetic diversity patterns. The most common genotypes are found globally while some genotypes are found more locally, and others are rare among our samples and are newly described. Gene trees based on available data show that our samples are mostly one mutational step from each other, with only two cases where the intermediate mutant has not been found. Calculations on the number of samples required to capture the majority of a species' diversity in the sampling area suggest that 25- 30 samples may be sufficient.

1 - University of Toronto, Cell & Systems Biology, 25 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G5, Canada
2 - University of Toronto, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
3 - University of Bristol , School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Ave., Bristol, BS8 1TQ , UK
4 - University Of Guelph, Department Of Integrative Biology, CBA-ABC, Canada

Keywords:
lichen
symbiosis
biogeography
join-count test
ITS
rarefaction.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 16
Location: Salon 11/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 2:00 PM
Number: 16003
Abstract ID:92
Candidate for Awards:A. J. Sharp Award