Establishing Phenotypic Variation from High Resolution Microscopy During Developmental Stages of Lichen Resynthesis in the Fungal Family Physciaceae

The process of lichenization, or the formation of a symbiotic partnership between an algal photobiont and its fungal mycobiont host, has been very challenging to replicate in vitro. Due to this, lichen trait evolution and composition is very difficult to track. Some of the research previously done in this area has led to an understanding of the sequential process of lichenization but has thus far been generally focused on individual species. This project intended to take a broader scale look at the morphology of a common family of lichen-forming fungi in the Chicago region, Physciaceae. This project consisted of three experiments that tested phenotypic variation between symbiotic associations of natural and non-natural mycobionts and photobionts (labeled here as "correct" and "incorrect"), morphological development in a nutrient-deficient environment, and variability amongst closely related fungal and algal species. In order to understand patterns of development and garner a fuller picture of the lichenization process, this project used phylogenetic and statistical analysis, as well as phenotypic data captured through high resolution microscopy, to determine levels of interaction between symbionts and the morphological implications of those interactions. The goals of this experiment extended beyond an understanding of the precise species involved into a broader study of many naturally occurring symbioses and the specificity required for those critical partnerships.