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. 2017 Jul 17;8(3):189-196.
doi: 10.1080/21501203.2017.1352048. eCollection 2017.

Endolichenic fungi: the lesser known fungal associates of lichens

Trichur S Suryanarayanan  1 , Nagamani Thirunavukkarasu  2
Affiliations

Endolichenic fungi: the lesser known fungal associates of lichens

Trichur S Suryanarayanan et al. Mycology. .

Abstract

Lichens are the result of a stable mutualism between a fungal and a photosynthesising partner (alga or cyanobacterium). In addition to the fungal partner in this mutualism, lichens are associated with endolichenic fungi which reside inside their thalli. The endolichenic fungi appear to have evolved with the lichen and many of them are a source of novel metabolites vested with unique bioactivities. There is very little information on the biology of endolichenic fungi and their interactions with the other components of a lichen microbiome. There is an urgent need to understand these aspects of endolichenic fungi such that their ecology and economic potential are known more completely. The current knowledge on endolichenic fungi is reviewed here.

Keywords: Endophyte; lichen microbiome; lichen symbiont.

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