Population structure of Cladonia borealis in King George Island

Abstract

The fruticose lichen Cladonia borealis grows on soil and humus, sometimes among mosses in light and dry places and is found in polar and subpolar areas. In order to investigate genetic variation and geographical distribution of C. borealis, 50 specimens mainly from King George Islands (Antarctic) and from Svalbard (Arctic) and Punta Arenas (Chile) as references were analyzed. Sequences of rDNA (ITS1&#8211

5.8S-ITS2-26S), mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) and RNA polymerase II (RPB2) were obtained, and phylogenetic relationship and haplotype network were analyzed. Cladonia borealis from King George Island was divided into two lineages. Cladonia borealis from Svalbard was divided into three lineages. In total 7 ITS1&#8211

5.8S-ITS2-26S haplotypes, 2 mtSSU haplotypes, and 4 RPB2 haplotypes were found. According to the phylogenetic relationships and haplotype networks, it is regarded that Cladonia borealis was transferred at least three times between northern and southern hemispheres.