Fungal diversity in rock beneath a crustose lichen as revealed by molecular markers

Lichen-forming fungi have been assumed to be more or less restricted to the surface of the substrate on which they grow, Conclusive identification of hyphae or an assessment of the fungal diversity inside lichen-covered rock has not been possible using methods based on direct observation. We circumvented this problem by using a DNA sequencing approach. Cores were drilled from a Devonian arcosic sandstone rock harboring the crustose lichen Ophioparma ventosa (L.) Norman on the surface. The cores were cut vertically, and DNA was extracted from the pulverized rock slices. A series of polymerase chain reactions using fungal-specific primers as well as Ophioparma ventosa specific primers were employed to amplify the internal transcribed spacer region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. The results show that hyphae of O. ventosa penetrate approximately 10-12 mm into the rock. Consequently, the hyphal layer formed by the lichen fungus inside the rock could be 7-12 times as thick as the symbiotic thallus at the surface of the rock. In addition, eight non-lichenized fungal taxa and five that could not be identified to species were encountered. One fungal species in the order Helotiales occurs in six of the eight cores. The significance of these results to the colonization and weathering of rock by lichenized fungi is discussed.