The antioxidant activity of nine lichen substances, including methylatrarate (1), methyl haematommate (2), lobaric acid (3), fumarprotocetraric acid (4), sphaerophorin (5), subsphaeric acid (6), diffractaic acid (7), barbatolic acid (8) and salazinic acid (9) has been determined through cyclic voltammetry. The compounds 1–4 presented slopes close to the Nernst constant of 0.059 V, indicating a 2H+/2e− relation between protons and electrons, as long as the compounds 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 present slopes … Read more... 

Lichens are one of the most iconic and ubiquitous symbioses known, widely valued as indicators of environmental quality and, more recently, climate change. Our understanding of lichen responses to climate has greatly expanded in recent decades, but some biases and constraints have shaped our present knowledge. In this review we focus on lichen ecophysiology as a key to predicting responses to present and future climates, highlighting recent advances and remaining challenges. Lichen ecophysiology … Read more... 

Clypeococcum wedinii, a pyrenocarpous ascomycete growing on the lichen genus Bunodophoron in Chile and New Zealand, is described as new to science. It differs from other Clypeococcum species in the combination of the following characteristics: a conspicuous gall formation, scattered, loose to dense stromatic growths sometimes looking like a clypeus, an ascomatal wall composed of both textura intricata and angularis in surface view, a non-amyloid hymenium, an absence of ostiolar filaments, 8-spored … Read more... 

Complete chromosomal-level assemblies of fungal genomes are rare. The intimate ecological symbioses and complex reproduction strategies utilized by fungi make highly contiguous, gapless genome assemblies particularly difficult. Here, we use long-read sequencing on the Oxford Nanopore Technology MinION platform to sequence and assemble the genome of Lepraria neglecta (Ascomycota, Lecanorales). In addition to eight contigs ascribable to chromosomes, six of which are assembled telomere-to-telomere, … Read more... 

Three new species of Arthoniales are described from Cape Verde: Ingaderia dendritica, with ascomata formed of richly branched-dendroid lirellae and containing erythrin; Sparria caboverdensis, with small stroma-like ascomata and ascospores with 3–7 transverse septa; and Syncesia miesii, with an I− thallus, a tomentose hymenial disc, and a chemistry with fatty acids only. Phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU and RPB2 sequences reveal the placement of Fulvophyton sorediatum, Llimonaea occulta, L. sorediata … Read more...