Summary
Electron micrographs of the two closely related lichen species Gonohymenia mesopotamica and G. sinaica were examined. It was found that the fine structure and cytokinesis of the phycobiont, Gloeocapsa sp. are not radically different from those of non-lichenized related blue-green algae. The single dissimilarity noted is the lack of polyglucoside bodies in the lichenized state. The contact between the symbionts is by fungal penetration into the algal component, whereby the integrity of both the fungal wall and the four-lamellar structure of the algal cell wall are preserved. Environmental conditions seem to have no effect on the fungus-alga relationship.
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Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Israel National Academy of Science for the support of this work.
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Paran, N., Ben-Shaul, Y. & Galun, M. Fine structure of the blue-green phycobiont and its relation to the mycobiont in two Gonohymenia lichens . Archiv. Mikrobiol. 76, 103–113 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411784
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411784