Bacterial line of defense in Dirinaria lichen from two different ecosystems: First genomic insights of its mycobiont Diriniria sp. GBRC AP01

Publication date: Available online 28 December 2019Source: Microbiological ResearchAuthor(s): Apurvasinh C. Puvar, Neelam M. Nathani, Inayatullah Shaikh, Arpan D. Bhatt, Poonam Bhargava, Chaitanya G. Joshi, Madhvi N. JoshiAbstractLichens have been widely studied for their symbiotic properties and for the secondary metabolites production by its fungal symbiont. Recent molecular studies have confirmed coexistence of bacteria along with the fungal and algal symbionts. Direct nucleic acid study by -omics approaches is providing better insights into their structural and functional dynamics. However, genomic analysis of individual members of lichen is difficult by the conventional approach. Hence, genome assembly from metagenome data needs standardization in the eukaryotic system like lichens. The present study aimed at metagenomic characterization of rock associated lichen Dirinaria collected from Kutch and Dang regions of Gujarat, followed by genome reconstruction and annotation of the mycobiont Dirinaria. The regions considered in the study are eco-geographically highly variant. The results revealed higher alpha diversity in the dry region Kutch as compared to the tropical forest associated lichen from Dang. Ascomycota was the most abundant eukaryote while Proteobacteria dominated the bacterial population. There were 23 genera observed only in the Kutch lichen (KL) and one genus viz., Candidatus Vecturithrix unique to the Dang lichen (DL). The exclusive bacterial genera in the K...
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research