Lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

Lichen: The Threesome – National Geographic Education Blog

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

Moss? Ugly worms An alien spaceship?!? it's lichen! Together, some fungus and algae create an organism called lichen. In a symbiotic relationship, the algae . SCIENCE Traditionally, scientists have likened lichen to a married Lichens probably have the most famous symbiotic relationship in nature. As wiseGEEK notes, "Lichens are perhaps the most amazing living things on Earth, because they represent a symbiotic relationship between a.

The coral provides the algae with a protected environment and compounds they need for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. Clownfish live among the toxic tentacles of sea anemones.

The clownfish protects the anemone from anemone-eating fish. In return, the stinging tentacles of the anemone protect the clownfish from its predators. A special mucus on the clownfish protects it from the stinging tentacles. In more than 50 species of lichens on six continents, there are actually three partners in the symbiotic relationship, not two.

The third partner is another type of fungus, known as a basidiomycete yeast.

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

After years of lichenology and microscopy great vocab words! The yeast has great chemical camouflage. The alga is embedded in the thick crust. The familiar ascomycete fungus is there too, but it branches inwards, creating the spongy interior.

To see them, [the lead researcher] bought laundry detergent from Wal-Mart and used it to very carefully strip that matrix away.

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

What does the yeast do? Mycologists people who study fungi are not at all sure how the yeast partner contributes to, or benefits from, the symbiotic relationship.

How do lichens get together in the first place? If the right combination meet together on a rock or twig, then a lichen will form, and this will result in the large and complex plant-like organisms that we see on trees and rocks very commonly. Also, the fungi involved have not been identified. Economic Relevance Plants that are involved in ectomycorrhizae are always trees and are found only in a few families. Most of these are utilized as a source of lumber, and in the case of the Pine family, millions of trees are used annually, this time of year, as Christmas trees.

When planting these trees, it is a routine practice, in forestry, to inoculate the seedling with a mycorrhizal fungus. This group of mycorrhiza have also been tested as a means of resisting fungal, root pathogens.

Symbiosis: Mycorrhizae and Lichens

It was reasoned that if the fungal sheath of the ectomycorrhizal fungus is covering the root tips, fungal root pathogens would be unable to gain entry into the root system of the host. Endomycorrhizae Although far less conspicuous because they do not produce large fruiting bodies, such as mushrooms, this category of mycorrhiza is far more common than the ectomycorrhizal type. Generally, it can be said that plants that do not form ectomycorrhizae will be the ones that form endomycorrhizae.

However, because of the absence of a macroscopic of macroscopic fruitbodies, the presence of endomycorrhizae is more difficult to demonstrate. Because of the lack of visibility, this group was considered to be rare until a method was devised that could readily detect such fungi in the soil and demonstrate that they are in fact very common. There are several categories of endomycorrhizae. The only common feature that they all share is that the mycelium of the fungal symbiont will gain entry into the host, root cells by cellulolytic enzymes.

Unlike the ectomycorrhizae, roots which are infected with mycorrhizal fungi do not differ morphologically from those that are not infected, i. However, the type of association that is formed between the host and fungus vary a great deal in the different categories of endomycorrhizae. Arbuscular Mycorrhizae This category of mycorrhiza can be found throughout the world, but more abundant in the tropics than in temperate regions, and is associated with more plants than any of the other categories of mycorrhizae.

The name of this type of mycorrhizae comes from the distinct structures called arbuscules that can be seen inside the cells of infected roots. These structures can be recognized by their branched tree-like appearance. Another structure that can be frequently observed are the rounded vesicles. The vesicles and arbuscules contain the stored minerals that are needed by the plant.

These structures lyse in the root cells and in this way the minerals become available to the plant. There is also extensive mycelium in the soil, but do not appear to be organized in any fashion.

Vesicles in roots cells of Sesbania sp. Note some vesicles have been displaced from cells due to preparation of slide. Arbuscule in root cell. Arbuscules are characterized by their tree-like appearance.

The group of fungi involved is always a member of the Zygomycota. There are only a few genera of fungi involved, but because of the lack of specificity of these genera to specific host plants, they have been found to have largest host range of any mycorrhizal group.

The VAM fungi normally produce assorted types of spores which can be used in the identification of these fungi, i. It was once thought that these fungi were nothing more than a rare curiosity. However, this was only because a technique was needed, which could more efficiently find VAM spores, than by simply sifting through the soil. Once this technique was found, this type of mycorrhiza was found to be the most common in nature.

Keep up with Mother Nature

It is because VAM have a broad host range they were once considered to be a future tool in agriculture, i. However, because these fungi cannot be grown in the absence of a host plant, individual inoculations would have to be done for each plant.

This would be impractical for any grains grown as well as for most crops, but have been utilized in planting of fruit trees which are planted individually. There are a number of native plants which are endangered, in which attempts at growing them from seeds and cuttings at NTBG have not been very good.

Symbiotic Relationships Game

A few years ago, while Drs. While inoculation of VAM fungi did greatly improve the survival of the young plants, it would not be the whole answer to their problems. Some species of native Hawaiian plants that were given inoculated with and without VAM fungi are shown on Figs. Left plant with and right without mycorrhiza. Left plant without and right with mycorrhiza, respectively.

Orchid Mycorrhizae Orchid mycorrhiza is endomycorrhizal and have fungal partners that are saprotrophic or pathogenic species of Basidiomycota, but a some are ectomycorrhizae, e. All orchids must form mycorrhizae. In most plants, the seed contains a food supply that will feed the embryo, until germination occurs, at which time the plant becomes photosynthetic and can produce its own food.

However, orchid seeds are very minute and contain a very small food reserve for the embryo. This food supply is usually depleted by the time that the first few cell divisions of the embryo has occurred.

During this critical period, the fungal symbiont colonizes the plant shortly after seed germination and form characteristic, coiled hyphae within the cortical cells of the root. The hyphae in the host cells collapse or are digested by the host that will supply the embryo with its carbon source and vitamins until it is able to photosynthesize. Unlike other mycorrhizal fungi, orchid mycorrhizal fungi can also digest organic materials, from the surrounding environment of the orchid, into glucose, ribose and other simple carbohydrate and these nutrients are translocated into the orchid to support their growth.

The relationships that orchid species have with the mycorrhizal fungi are variable and is dependent on their nutritional needs. Those orchids that are photosynthetic still retain their fungal partners, but it is not clear as to what role it is playing. However, the achlorophyllous orchids will require it even as adult plants. In these species the associate fungus forms a tripartate relationship, where the fungus also forms a relationship with a photosynthetic plant and channel its nutrient to the orchid.

The fungus will also supply both plants with inorganic nutrients. Ericaceous Mycorrhizae The mycorrhiza formed in this group is between fungi in the Ascomycota, and more rarely in the Deuteromycota, and species in the families Epacridaceae, Ericaceae and Pyrolaceae. Three subcategories are recognized, arbutoid, ericoid and monotropoid.

We will briefly cover the latter two groups. Arbutoid Mycorrhiza This group forms associations with plants that are trees and shrubs that belong to the genera Arbutus madroneArctostaphylos manzanita and Arctous alpinus mountain bearberry. They have characteristics that are both ecto- and endo-mycorrhizae: There is a formation of an external mantle of mycelium that forms a hartig's net, as in ectomycorrhiza, but intracelllar penetration of cortical cells occurs as in endomycorrhiza.

Fungi forming this association are members of the Basidiomycota. Ericoid Mycorrhizae Plants having this group of mycorrhiza are commonly found in acidic, peatland soils and include members of genera Calluna heatherRhododendron, Azaleas and Vaccinium blueberriesof the family Ericaceae.

Ericoid mycorrhizae have evolved in association with plants that are continually stressed by factors within the soil. The soil is typically extremely acid, peatland soil, low in available minerals because mineralization is inhibited. Plants with ericoid mycorrhizae seem to have a high tolerance to these stresses and there is good reason to believe that this is related to the presence of the mycorrhizal fungus and that the survival of the host is dependent upon the fungus.

The mycorrhizal association is most similar to that of an endomycorrhiza because fungus growth is extensive in the root cortex. The fungus penetrates the cell wall and invaginates plasmalemma and is filled with coiled hyphae, like those in orchid mycorrhizae. No mantle is formed. Infected cells are fully packed with fungal hyphae. Fungus species are mostly members of the Ascomycota, in the genus Hymenoscyphus.

Cross section of ericoid root, showing coiled hyphae. The host cell dies as the association disintegrates, thereby restricting the functional life, i. Monotropoid Mycorrhizae One of the characteristics that we normally attribute to plants is that they have chlorophyll and can produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis. However, this is not true of all plants. The Monotropaceae and Pyrolaceae are two families of plants that are achlorophyllous.

Thus, plants in these families are more dependent upon their mycorrhizal partners than plants which can carry out photosynthesis. Monotropa uniflora left from http: The means by which food is obtained by these plants is the same as in achlorophyllous orchids.

However, morphologically, they are very different. The achlorophyllous host has mycorrhizae roots that appear to be formed by an ectomycorrhizal fungus, but the epidermal and outer cortical cells are penetrated by the fungus, as in endomycorrhizal plants.

The fungus also forms an ectomycorrhizal relationship with a tree which is capable of photosynthesis. So, as in the case of the epiphytic orchids, the photosynthetic tree indirectly provides carbohydrates to these achlorophyllous plants, as well as to the fungus. Both hosts probably obtain their mineral requirements through the fungus.

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

Lichens The most well known example of a symbiosis between fungi and plants is the lichen, if you will allow me to include algae as plants. The concept of what constitutes a lichen has broaden significantly in the last 25 years to include some species of mushrooms, slime molds, and some members of the Zygomycota.

However, we will discuss lichens in the traditional sense, as an association between a fungus and an alga that develops into a unique morphological form that is distinct from either partner. The fungus component of the lichen is referred to as the mycobiont and the alga is the phycobiont. Because the morphology of lichen species was so distinct, they were once thought to be genetically autonomous until the Swiss Botanist Simon Schwendener described their dual nature in Prior to that time, because of the morphology of many of the "leafy" species of lichens, they were considered to be related to bryophytes, i.

Although, lichens are now known to be composite organisms, they are still named for the fungus part of the association since that is the prominent part of the lichen thallus. A thallus is an old botanical term used to describe "plants" that do not have leaves, stems and roots, and its origin goes back to a time when only two kingdoms were recognized in classifying organisms, i. Prior toorganisms such as algae, bacteria and fungi, were included in the plant kingdom.

InWhitaker, proposed a five kingdom system that was used for many years, but may soon also become outdated. Although, this term is antiquated, it is still used to describe the "bodies" of algae, fungi and of course lichens. The only group of plants, in which we still use the term thallus, to refer to the plant body, are the bryophytes. Although the lichen thallus is composed of an algal and fungal component, lichens are not studied in mycology or phycology that part of botany that studies algae.

Instead, they are studied in their own discipline, lichenology. There are relatively few lichen researchers. Of these most are systematists. As a result, there are still some basic questions concerning this symbiosis that are unanswered or at least up for debate.

One of the most basic questions, that has been asked since the discovery of the lichen symbiosis, concerns whether lichens represent a true mutualistic symbiosis or nothing more than a variation of a host-parasite relationship. There is evidence supporting both sides. That it represented a mutualistic symbiosis, in which the alga was believed to contribute the food supply through photosynthesis, and the fungus protected the alga from desiccation, harmful solar radiation and provided the alga with water and inorganic nutrients, was postulated by Beatrix Potter, the writer and illustrator of Peter Rabbit, soon after Schwendener had determined the true nature of the lichen thallus.

  • Lichen: The Threesome

In order to understand both sides of the issue, lets look at the morphology and anatomy of lichens. The Lichen Thallus In the traditional sense of lichens, their thallus can be artificially divided into four forms: Foliose Lichens Lichen thallus which is generally "leaf-like", in appearance and attached to the substrate at various points by root-like structures called rhizines.

Because of their loose attachment, they can easily be removed. These are the lichens which can generally be mistaken for bryophytes, specifically liverworts.

| CK Foundation

It is possible, or even probable, that herbaria still contain lichens that have been mistakenly identified as liverworts. If we look at these a foliose lichen in longitudinal section, from top to bottom, we would be able to distinguished the following layers: Often composed of tightly interwoven mycelium, which gives it a cellular appearance. This cellular appearance is referred to as pseudoparenchymatous. Composed of interwoven hyphae with the host algal cells. This is the ideal location for the algal cells.

Beneath the upper cortex so that it receives the optimal amount of solar radiation, for photosynthesis, but not direct solar radiation which would be harmful. Composed of loosely interwoven mycelium. Layer is entirely fungal. Usually same composition as the upper cortex and attached to the substrate by root-like structures called rhizines. The rhizines are entirely fungal, in origin, and serve to anchor it to the substrate.

Thus, the foliose lichens also have what is referred to as a dorsiventral thallus, i.

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

Sectional views, illustrating how the three thallus types of lichens differ. The entire lower surface is attached to the substrate. These lichens are so thin that they often appear to be part of the substrate on which they are growing. The following link shows an image of several lichen thalli. Crustose species that are brightly colored often give the substrate a "spray-painted" appearance. The thallus has the upper cortex, algal and medullary layers in common with the foliose lichens, but does not have a lower cortex.

The medullary layer attached directly to the substrate and the margins are attached by the upper cortex. This type of lichen is tightly flattened to its substrate and the entire lower surface medulla is attached, making it impossible to remove the thallus from its substrate.

Fruticose Lichens The thallus is often composed of pendulous "hair-like or less commonly upright branches finger-like.

The thallus is attached at a single point by a holdfast. In cross section, the thallus can usually be seen to be radially symmetrical, i. The layers that can be recognized are the cortex, algal layer, medullary layer, and in some species the center has a "cord" which is composed of tightly interwoven mycelium. Other species have a hollow center that lack this central cord. Fructicose lichen thallus is attached to its substrate at a single point, but finding that point is not that easy!

Biology of Lichens In looking at the anatomy of the lichen, it is obvious that there is interaction between the phycobiont and mycobiont, but what kind of interaction is occurring.

One school of thou0ght is that the alga produces the food material and that the fungus protects alga from desiccation, high light intensities, mechanical injuries and provides it with water and minerals. This is the reasoning that many introductory text books have adopted and they define a lichen as a mutualistic symbiosis. However, in studies that have been done that examines the alga-fungus interface, it can be clearly seen that haustoria, specialized feeding structures present in parasitic fungi, penetrate the alga cells.

Thus, many lichenologist have defined this relationship as a controlled form of parasitism. There is more evidence and I would like to go over some of these. Illustration of haustoria penetrating algal cells give evidence that the lichen symbiosis is really a controlled form of parasitism.

lichen and moss symbiotic relationship activities

Conditions outside these parameters will usually be fatal for most species of fungi and algae. However, lichens occur all over the world. They even occur in arctic and hot, dry desert areas where few organisms can live or even survive. Thus, the lichen is able to exploit habitats that few other organisms are able to utilize that seem likely to be the result of their mutualistic, symbiotic relationship. Another experiment that demonstrates that lichens represent a mutualistic symbiotic relationship was carried out in the laboratory by Vernon Ahmadjian.

Although, it is not difficult to separate the myco- and phycobiont components of the lichen, and grow them separately in the laboratory, putting the component back together is another story. For many years it was not possible to put the two together to reform the lichen thallus. The reason for this was the method that was used in attempting to reform the lichen thallus. These types of media did not work. Ahmadjian reasoned that if the lichen represents a symbiosis, the reason that the relationship formed was because, in nature, neither one could obtain all the nutrients necessary for survival and that only after the two organisms interacted was it possible.

Thus, Ahmadjian created a minimal medium, which would not support the growth of either the myco- or phycobiont, and inoculated them into that medium.