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We are a research group focusing on the symbiotic associations in lichens

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Research

Symbiotic organisms play a key role in natural communities.
Lichens are common symbiotic organisms composed of a fungal partner, the mycobiont,
and one or more photosynthetic partners, the photobiont, that may be either a green alga or cyanobacterium.

Our research focuses on various aspects of lichen symbiosis:

  • Diversity of symbiotic algae within various lichen genera.
  • Diversity of free-living symbiotic algae.
  • Ecological drivers of lichen symbiosis: The effect of climatic and habitat factors in shaping the relationships between the fungal and algal partners.
  • Niche dimensions of algal partners.
  • Formation and ontogeny of lichen symbiosis: From vegetative propagules to mature thalli.
  • Dispersal of symbiotic partners.
  • Spatial and temporal dynamics of lichen symbiotic associations.

Research Team

Principal investigators

Jana Steinová

jana.steinova[at]gmail.com www

Pavel Škaloud

skaloud[at]natur.cuni.cz www

Post-docs

Ivana Černajová

ivkacerka[at]gmail.com

Lucie Vančurová

vancurova.l[at]gmail.com

Students

Heda Ghlimová

ghlihe[at]seznam.cz PhD student

Veronika Kantnerová

vkanti[at]seznam.cz PhD student

Eliška Konečná

el.konecna[at]seznam.cz PhD student

Veronica Malavasi

veronica.malavasi80[at]gmail.com PhD student

Zuzana Škvorová

zuzka.skvorova[at]centrum.cz PhD student

Veronika Veselá

v.vesela2[at]seznam.cz PhD student

Alumni

Jana Schmidtová

External collaborators

  • Ondřej Peksa (Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic)
  • Francesco Dal Grande (Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute, Germany)
  • Patricia Moya (University of Valencia, Spain)
  • Lucia Muggia (University of Trieste, Italy)

Publications

Gheza, G., Malíček, J., Vančurová, L., Feiertag, D., Nascimbene, J. & Mayrhofer, H. (2025)
The epiphytic leprose Leprocaulon inexpectatum sp. nov. (Ascomycota, Leprocaulaceae) from Italy and its photosynthetic partner Symbiochloris.
The Lichenologist 57: 1-12.

Dědková, K., Vačurová, L., Muggia, L. & Steinová, J. (2025)
The plurality of photobionts within single lichen thalli.
Symbiosis (in press).

Veselá, V., Malavasi, V. & Škaloud, P. (2024)
A synopsis of green-algal lichen symbionts with an emphasis on their free-living lifestyle.
Phycologia 63: 317-338.

Peksa, O.,Gebouská, T.,Škvorová, Z.,Vančurová, L. & Škaloud, P. (2022)
The guilds in green algal lichens—an insight into the life of terrestrial symbiotic communities.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology 98: 1-17.
     
Steinová, J., Holien, H., Košuthová, A. & Škaloud, P. (2022)
An exception to the rule? Could photobiont identity be a better predictor of lichen phenotype than mycobiont identity?
Journal of Fungi 8: 275.
     
Černajová, I., Schiefelbein, U. & Škaloud, P. (2022)
Lichens from the littoral zone host diverse ulvophycean photobionts.
Journal of Phycology (published online).
     
Škvorová, Z., Černajová, I., Steinová, J., Peksa, O., Moya, P. & Škaloud, P. (2022)
Promiscuity in lichens follows clear rules: partner switching in Cladonia is regulated by climatic factors and soil chemistry.
Frontiers in Microbiology 12: 781585.
     
Vančurová, L., Malíček, J., Steinová, J. & Škaloud, P. (2021)
Choosing the right life partner: Ecological drivers of lichen symbiosis.
Frontiers in Microbiology 12: 769304.
     
Moya, P., Molins, A., Škaloud, P., Divakar, P.K., Chiva, S., Dumitru, C., Molina, M.C., Crespo, A. & Barreno, E. (2021)
Biodiversity patterns and ecological preferences of the photobionts associated with the lichen-forming genus Parmelia.
Frontiers in Microbiology 12: 765310.
     
Černajová, I. & Škaloud, P. (2020)
Lessons from culturing lichen soredia.
Symbiosis 82: 109-122.
     
Vančurová, L., Kalníková, V., Peksa, O., Škvorová, Z., Malíček, J., Moya, P., Chytrý, K., Černajová, I. & Škaloud, P. (2020)
Symbiosis between river and dry lands: Phycobiont dynamics on river gravel bars.
Algal Research 51: 102062.
     
Černajová, I. & Škaloud, P. (2019)
The first survey of Cystobasidiomycete yeasts in the lichen genus Cladonia; with the description of Lichenozyma pisutiana gen. nov., sp. nov.
Fungal Biology 123: 625-637.
     
Steinová, J., Škaloud, P., Yahr, R., Bestová, H. & Muggia, L. (2019)
Reproductive and dispersal strategies shape the diversity of mycobiont-photobiont association in lichen symbioses.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 134: 226-237.
     
Vančurová, L., Muggia, L., Peksa, O., Řídká, T. & Škaloud, P. (2018)
The complexity of symbiotic interactions influences the ecological amplitude of the host: a case study in Stereocaulon (lichenized Ascomycota).
Molecular Ecology 27: 3016-3033.
     
Moya, P., Chiva, S., Molins, A., Jadrná, I., Škaloud, P., Peksa, O. & Barreno, E. (2018)
Myrmecia israeliensis as the primary symbiotic microalga in squamulose lichens growing in European and Canarian terricolous communities.
Fottea 18: 72-85.
     
Škaloud, P., Moya, P., Molins, A., Peksa, O., Santos-Guerra, A. & Barreno, E. (2018)
Untangling the hidden intrathalline microalgal diversity in Parmotrema pseudotinctorum: Trebouxia crespoana sp. nov.
The Lichenologist 50: 357-369.

Lichen Symbiosis Research Group

Department of Botany
Faculty of Science
Charles University
Benatska 2, 12800 Praha 2
Czech Republic

jana.steinova@gmail.com
skaloud@natur.cuni.cz

+420 221 951 648