Plants 2012, 1, 39-60; doi:10.3390/plants1020039 OPEN ACCESS plants ISSN 2223-7747 www.mdpi.com/journal/plants Article Photobiont Relationships and Phylogenetic History of Dermatocarpon luridum var. luridum and Related Dermatocarpon Species Kyle M. Fontaine 1, Andreas Beck 2, Elfie Stocker-Wörgötter 3 and Michele D. Piercey-Normore 1,* 1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada; E-Mail:
[email protected] 2 Botanische Staatssammlung München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany; E-Mail:
[email protected] 3 Department of Organismic Biology, Ecology and Diversity of Plants, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: Michele.Piercey-Normore@ad. umanitoba.ca; Tel.: +1-204-474-9610; Fax: +1-204-474-7588. Received: 31 July 2012; in revised form: 11 September 2012 / Accepted: 25 September 2012 / Published: 10 October 2012 Abstract: Members of the genus Dermatocarpon are widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere along the edge of lakes, rivers and streams, and are subject to abiotic conditions reflecting both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Little is known about the evolutionary relationships within the genus and between continents. Investigation of the photobiont(s) associated with sub-aquatic and terrestrial Dermatocarpon species may reveal habitat requirements of the photobiont and the ability for fungal species to share the same photobiont species under different habitat conditions. The focus of our study was to determine the relationship between Canadian and Austrian Dermatocarpon luridum var. luridum along with three additional sub-aquatic Dermatocarpon species, and to determine the species of photobionts that associate with D.