Onut-Brännström lab
Biology and evolution of lichen photobionts
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Lichens, symbiotic organisms composed of a heterotrophic fungal host (mycobiont), algal partners (photobionts), and complex fungal yeasts and bacterial communities are keystone species for cold environments, sustaining entire trophic webs. Many lichen taxa exhibit vast distribution ranges across various climatic zones, while cold-adapted lichen species can endure drastic temperature shifts, survive gamma radiation, intense UV-light, and even Mars-like conditions. However, lichens are vulnerable to pollution, with exposure to pollutants often proving fatal for many species, although some can adapt and thrive in polluted environments.
The underlying mechanism of lichen adaptation, characterized by their broad distribution, resilience to extreme conditions, and simultaneous sensitivity to pollution, remains largely unknown but the photobionts appear to play a pivotal role. However, a significant knowledge gap exists regarding the biology of lichen photobionts, including species diversity, phylogenetic relationships, genomic features, distribution ranges, dispersal mechanisms, and their ability to cope with stressful environments such as extreme temperatures.
In my research group, we aim to address these critical knowledge gaps concerning lichens, focusing on fundamental aspects of photobiont biology and evolution. Additionally, we seek to understand how the mating system and population structure of the mycobiont influence photobiont dispersal modes.
These investigations employ a comprehensive approach, utilizing molecular and chemical techniques, ecological studies, and bioinformatic methods such as comparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses.
Group members
Publications
Part of Mobile DNA, 2024
- DOI for Teaching transposon classification as a means to crowd source the curation of repeat annotation: a tardigrade perspective
- Download full text (pdf) of Teaching transposon classification as a means to crowd source the curation of repeat annotation: a tardigrade perspective
Part of Genome Biology and Evolution, 2023
- DOI for A Mitosome With Distinct Metabolism in the Uncultured Protist Parasite Paramikrocytos canceri (Rhizaria, Ascetosporea)
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Part of Current Biology, p. 3571-+, 2023
- DOI for A novel kleptoplastidic symbiosis revealed in the marine centrohelid Meringosphaera with evidence of genetic integration
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Genome-scale phylogeny and comparative genomics of the fungal order Sordariales
Part of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2023
- DOI for Genome-scale phylogeny and comparative genomics of the fungal order Sordariales
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Contrasting outcomes of genome reduction in mikrocytids and microsporidians
Part of BMC Biology, 2023
- DOI for Contrasting outcomes of genome reduction in mikrocytids and microsporidians
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Thamnolia tundrae sp nov., a cryptic species and putative glacial relict
Part of The Lichenologist, p. 59-75, 2018
Part of Scientific Reports, 2018
- DOI for Sharing of photobionts in sympatric populations of Thamnolia and Cetraria lichens: evidence from high-throughput sequencing
- Download full text (pdf) of Sharing of photobionts in sympatric populations of Thamnolia and Cetraria lichens: evidence from high-throughput sequencing
Part of Ecology and Evolution, p. 3602-3615, 2017
- DOI for A worldwide phylogeography of the whiteworm lichens Thamnolia reveals three lineages with distinct habitats and evolutionary histories
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Genomics and the challenging translation into conservation practice
Part of Trends in Ecology & Evolution, p. 78-87, 2015
Part of Evolutionary Ecology, p. 1043-1055, 2014
- DOI for The mating brain: early maturing sneaker males maintain investment into the brain also under fast body growth in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
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