Anthraquinone evolution in lichenised fungi

"Lichenised fungi living in deserts and high-altitude regions face a challenge from intense UV light, which is known to cause DNA damage. Recently, we have shown that the order Teloschistales (Ascomycota), a group of >1,000 species, underwent an adaptive radiation _100 Mya, with one of the four families within this order, Teloschistaceae, experiencing an increase in diversification rates associated with a switch from bark to rock and from shady to sun-exposed habitats. Our hypothesis is that the adaptation to sunny habitats is likely to have been enabled by a contemporaneous key novel phenotypic innovation: the production of anthraquinones, secondary metabolites known to protect against UV light. Hence, two ecological factors (sun exposure and rock substrate) and the phenotypic innovation (anthraquinones) seem likely to be responsible for the success of the Teloschistaceae, one of the larges lichen-forming fungal lineages.

Objectives: i) To reconstruct a genome-level phylogeny for the Teloschistales and sister clades to test whether current taxa are monophyletic and reflect evolutionary processes such as changes in branching/speciation rates; ii) Annotate secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters to test whether the novel phenotypic innovation of anthraquinone biosynthesis is related to the evolution of new gene clusters; iii) Test which factors control metabolome variation in the Teloschistales e.g. phylogeny, climatic conditions (especially solar radiation levels and aridity), substrate preference and geographical distribution factors; iv) Carry out a chemogenomic assay of anthraquinones from the Teloschistales to determine their antifungal mode of action; v) Use information on their antifungal mode of action to inform how differences between Teloschistales and sister clades explain natural resistance to anthraquinones; vi) Describe the diversity of Teloschistales lichen microbiomes and functional annotate their genomes to test whether they are distinct from other lichen families and if they are metabolically active.
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