Lichens are symbiotic associations of fungi and photosynthetic algae or bacteria that develop a unique vegetative body. Several lichen-forming fungi belong to the phylum Basidiomycota, and little is known about their phylogenetic relationships or evolutionary transition to symbiosis. This project will clarify the species diversity of the largest and taxonomically most difficult group of basidiolichens, the globally-distributed tropical genus Dictyonema, using molecular, anatomical and developmental data. It will also clarify details of the evolutionary transition from free-living fungi to symbiotic lichen. The project will also investigate a previously-unrecognized tropical group of cyanobacteria, first discovered in Dictyonema lichens and apparently uniquely symbiotic. Existing NSF-funded projects throughout Latin America and selected Paleotropical locations will make available thousands of new specimens to the project, and specimens will also be collected throughout the Galápagos Islands.
The project will be carried out by scientists and students from three institutions, George Mason University, the Field Museum of Natural History and the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galápagos. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in field collection, specimen curation, laboratory research, databasing, and data analysis. The Galápagos portion of the project includes a lichen workshop at the Charles Darwin Research Station designed to encourage and enhance ongoing lichen research and conservation efforts at the Station.
