Data and Scripts for Schweiger et al. (2021) "Chemical properties of key metabolites determine the global distribution of lichens"

Data and Scripts for Schweiger et al. (2021) "Chemical properties of key metabolites determine  the global distribution of lichens".

A detailed description of the individual files is provided in the "Schweiger-et-al-DataPublication-Index-Submissionfiles.txt" file.

Summary of the study:

In lichen symbioses, fungal secondary metabolites provide UV protection on which certain lichen algae such as trebouxioid green algae sensitively depend. These metabolites differ in their UV absorbance capability and solvability, and thus vary in their propensity of being leached from the lichen body by high precipitation and temperatures, with still unknown implications for the global distribution of lichens. In this global study, we show that the occurrence and chemical properties of fungal-derived metabolites are of eco-evolutionary significance for the global, latitudinal distribution of lichenized Trebouxiophyceae. This might represent an indirect environmental adaptation in which the mycobiont invests to protect the trebouxioid photobiont from harsh environmental conditions and, by doing this, secures its efficient source of photosynthetic carbon.