Department of Plant Taxonomy and Nature Conservation, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, Gdańsk, PL-80-308, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 9;14(1):23514. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74937-w.
Proper species recognition is required to correctly estimate species preferences and their vulnerability or for eco-evolutionary inference. Varicellaria hemisphaerica and Varicellaria lactea are almost completely morphologically homogeneous species with unclear identification features. To evaluate the importance of morphological, chemical, and ecological characteristics used in recognition of these species, we tested 670 specimens, of which 42 were analyzed phylogenetically using nucITS rDNA, SSU rDNA, and LSU rDNA markers. This integrated taxonomical approach showed that V. hemisphaerica is distinct from V. lactea, and that substrate requirements, together with phylogenetic differences and the size of soredia, differentiate these species. The chemical composition of secondary lichen metabolites in both analyzed species showed similar variation and, therefore, this feature is not diagnostic in species recognition, although suggested by previous studies. The potential speciation of the two species seems to be caused by the shift in the substrate requirements.
正确识别物种是正确估计物种偏好及其脆弱性或进行生态进化推断的前提。球冠梨果茶和乳茶在形态上几乎完全同质，没有明确的鉴别特征。为了评估在识别这些物种时使用的形态、化学和生态特征的重要性，我们测试了 670 个标本，其中 42 个标本使用 nucITS rDNA、SSU rDNA 和 LSU rDNA 标记进行了系统发育分析。这种综合分类方法表明，球冠梨果茶与乳茶不同，并且基质要求以及系统发育差异和叶斑的大小可以区分这些物种。在这两个分析物种中，次生地衣代谢物的化学组成显示出相似的变化，因此，尽管之前的研究表明了这一点，但该特征在物种识别中没有诊断意义。这两个物种的潜在物种形成似乎是由基质要求的转变引起的。
