Responses of the lichen Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. to varying thallus nitrogen concentrations

Abstract

The responses of the nitrophytic green algal lichen Xanthoria parietina to varying nitrogen (N) concentrations were investigated by collecting 67 X. parietina thalli from clay roof tiles from 13 sites in Portugal with different exposures to N. Concentrations of total N, chlorophyll a (a marker for the photobiont), ergosterol (a marker for the mycobiont), and thallus specific weight (TSW; thallus dry weight in relation to surface area) were quantified for each thallus to see how biont investments were related to thallus N concentrations. Thallus N ranged from 11 to 43 mg g⁻¹ DW revealing a wider N concentration range in this lichen compared to other green algal lichen species. Both chlorophyll a and ergosterol concentrations increased with increasing thallus N, with a steeper increase of the photobiont marker. TSW was similar in all thalli without any significant effect of thallus N concentration, suggesting that thallus developmental patterns are similar in low and high thallus N concentrations. The relatively higher resource allocation to the photobiont in relation to the mycobiont with increasing thallus N concentrations is an indication of the capacity of X. parietina to meet the C demands associated with N assimilation. This result is also in agreement with the inter-specific resource allocation pattern for green algal lichens across the same N concentration range.