Metagenome of the lichen Physcia stellaris

A lichen is a symbiotic association of a fungus and a photosynthesizing partner, such as a green algae or cyanobacterium. The symbiosis is usually obligate for the fungus. The goal of this study was to generate genome information for phylogenetic analysis from the cultured mycobionts (lichenizing fungi) and lichen thalli spanning the diversity of lichenized groups in the classes Lecanoromycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Dothidiomycetes, Arthoniomycetes and Lichinomycetes. Physcia stellaris is a lichen composed of the lichenizing fungus Physcia stellaris (for which the association is named) and its green algal photobiont. The metagenome data here include sequences from the lichenizing fungus Physcia stellaris (class Lecanomycetes, subclass Lecanoromycetidae), the green algal photobiont, and possibly endolichenic fungi or prokaryotes.