ArticleDie Naturwissenschaften2008
Life in extreme environments: survival strategy of the endolithic desert lichen Verrucaria rubrocincta.
Article in Die Naturwissenschaften, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
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- An exceptionally stable and widespread hydrated amorphous calcium carbonate precipitated by the dog vomit slime mold Fuligo septica (Myxogastria).Scientific reports · 2022Article
- A review of the nature, role and control of lithobionts on stone cultural heritage: weighing-up and managing biodeterioration and bioprotection.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2020Review
- The Microbiomes of Seven Lichen Genera Reveal Host Specificity, a Reduced Core Community and Potential as Source of Antimicrobials.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
- Terrestrial exposure of a fresh Martian meteorite causes rapid changes in hydrogen isotopes and water concentrations.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Stress tolerance and virulence of insect-pathogenic fungi are determined by environmental conditions during conidial formation.Current genetics · 2015Article
- Nitrogen and carbon isotope variability in the green-algal lichen Xanthoria parietina and their implications on mycobiont-photobiont interactions.Ecology and evolution · 2012Article
- Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2012Review
- Sunlight-exposed biofilm microbial communities are naturally resistant to chernobyl ionizing-radiation levels.PloS one · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Verrucaria rubrocincta Breuss is an endolithic lichen that inhabits caliche plates exposed on the surface of the Sonoran Desert. Caliche surface temperatures are regularly in excess of 60 degrees C during the summer and approach 0 degrees C in the winter. Incident light intensities are high, with photosynthetically active radiation levels typically to 2,600 micromol/m(2) s(-1) during the summer. A cross-section of rock inhabited by V. rubrocincta shows an anatomical zonation comprising an upper micrite layer, a photobiont layer containing clusters of algal cells, and a pseudomedulla embedded in the caliche. Hyphae of the pseudomedulla become less numerous with depth below the rock surface. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic data for the caliche and micrite fall into two sloping, well-separated arrays on a delta(13)C-delta(18)O plot. The delta(13)C(PDB) of the micrite ranges from 2.1 to 8.1 and delta(18)O(SMOW) from 25.4 to 28.9, whereas delta(13)C(PDB) of the caliche ranges from -4.7 to 0.7 and delta(18)O(SMOW) from 23.7 to 29.2. The isotopic data of the micrite can be explained by preferential fixing of (12)C into the alga, leaving local (13)C enrichment and evaporative enrichment of (18)O in the water. The (14)C dates of the micrite range from recent to 884 years b.p., indicating that "dead" carbon from the caliche is not a significant source for the lichen-precipitated micrite. The endolithic growth is an adaptation to the environmental extremes of exposed rock surfaces in the hot desert. The micrite layer is highly reflective and reduces light intensity to the algae below and acts as an efficient sunscreen that blocks harmful UV radiation. The micrite also acts as a cap to the lichen and helps trap moisture. The lichen survives by the combined effects of biodeterioration and biomineralization. Biodeterioration of the caliche concomitant with biomineralization of a protective surface coating of micrite results in the distinctive anatomy of V. rubrocincta.
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