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Carbon and nitrogen distribution in the green algal lichens Hypogymnia physodes and Platismatia glauca in relation to nutrient supply

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Abstract

With the aim of understanding how some lichens can survive intensive fertilization we investigated two green algal (Trebouxia) lichens, Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. and Platismatia glauca (L.) W. Culb., and compared control (Ctr), and intensively fertilized (F) thalli. We measured total N, proteins and amino acids to assess lichen N status. Chlorophyll a indicated photosynthetic capacity and photobiont mass, ergosterol the metabolic demands of the fungus, and chitin the fungal biomass. For carbon status we measured glucose, the photobiont (Trebouxia) export product ribitol, and the mycobiont-specific carbohydrates arabitol and mannitol. The F-thalli had 2–3 times higher protein and N concentrations, 5–10 times higher chlorophyll a concentrations, while ergosterol and chitin were doubled. The ribitol concentrations were 4–5 times higher in the F-thalli, while the fungal carbohydrates did not increase to the same extent. The amino acid arginine had increased 60-fold. The F-thalli also had a relatively higher N investment in the photobiont in relation to mycobiont tissue compared to the Ctr-thalli, probably resulting in an increased capacity for carbon assimilation, most possibly required for maintaining the higher nutrient status of the F-thalli. Arginine accumulation possibly avoided toxic effects of accumulated NH4 +, albeit binding a significant fraction of assimilated carbon.

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Abbreviations

aa:

total pool of amino acids

aa−arg:

amino acids minus arginine

arg:

arginine

Chl a :

chlorophyll a

Ctr-thalli:

control thalli collected from a non-fertilized control plot

dw:

dry weight

F-thalli:

fertilized thalli collected from an irrigation–fertilization (IL)-plot

IL:

irrigation–fertilization designed to derive an optimal nutrient status in the Norway spruce needles (cf. Linder 1995)

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Acknowledgements

The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS) provided grants to K.P. (24.0795/97) and T.N. (23.0345/99). The Center for Environmental Research (CMF, Umeå, Sweden) provided a grant to L.D. (993194). Margareta Zetherström (Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU, Sweden) gave skilful technical support throughout. Professor Sune Linder (Department of Ecology and Environmental research, SLU, Sweden) is acknowledged for providing us with the unique lichen material resulting from the nutrient-optimization experiment at Flakaliden.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, , 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Lena Dahlman & Kristin Palmqvist

  2. Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 901 83 , Umeå, Sweden

    Jörgen Persson & Torgny Näsholm

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  1. Lena Dahlman
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  2. Jörgen Persson
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  3. Torgny Näsholm
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  4. Kristin Palmqvist
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Correspondence to Lena Dahlman.

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Dahlman, L., Persson, J., Näsholm, T. et al. Carbon and nitrogen distribution in the green algal lichens Hypogymnia physodes and Platismatia glauca in relation to nutrient supply. Planta 217, 41–48 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-003-0977-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-003-0977-8

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