A NEW LICHENIZED FUNGI RECORD FROM ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, ANTARCTICA ACCORDING TO nrITS PHYLOGENY: Buellia badia (FR.) A. MASSAL

OpenAlex İngilizce

Vegetation in the Antarctic Peninsula is quite poor due to the generally harsh conditions of Antarctica. Lichenized fungi are the dominant elements of the vegetation. There are about 450 species of lichenized fungi in Antarctica. About 65% of these lichenized fungi are distributed in the Antarctic Peninsula. Buellia is one of the most common genera in the Antarctic Peninsula. The genus Buellia is characterized by black lecideine apothecia, oblong or ellipsoidal and rarely citriform-shaped brown ascospores with one or more septa and a reddish-brown and rarely hyaline hypothecium. It is classified in the Caliciaceae family. The phylogeny of the heterogeneous genus Buellia is still not fully resolved today. There are about 400 species in the genus Buellia in the world. Only 20 of these species are distributed in Antarctica. In this study, we report Buellia badia as a new lichenized fungi record from Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica according to its nrITS phylogeny.