Message - 7th IAL Symposium

1B-O
Lichen: from genome to ecosystem in a changing world
(1B-O7) Submission ID: IAL0172-00001
LICHEN MICROBIOMES: A MULTIPHASIC APPROACH TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING
DIVERSITY AND FUNCTION
Grube M. 1 , Cardinale M. 2 , Müller H. 2 , Riedel K. 3 , Berg G. 2
1 Institute of Plant Sciences, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria
2 Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
3 Institute of Microbiology, TU Braunschweig & Helmholtz Centre of Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
We extend our previous research on lichen-associated bacteria to study the effects of ecological and
geographic variation on composition and function of lichen microbiomes. To characterise composition of the
microbiomes of individual lichens we use a polyphasic approach including SSCP fingerprinting, deep amplicon
sequencing and FISH-CLSM (fluorescence in situ hybridization and confocal laser scanning microscopy). This
approach revealed the composition of core and transient fractions of bacterial communities in several species of
lichens. We also study the effect of lichenicolous infections on the lichen-associated bacterial communities using
Solorina crocea. These data of lichen microbiome variation were complemented by a functional characterization
of the entire lichen symbiosis using an environmental proteomics approach. We here present first data on the
analysis of the metaproteome of Lobaria pulmonaria. The results provide new insights into the effect of geography
as well as intrinsic and environmental parameters on multispecies microbial ecosystems.
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