Project:

Fire Island Lichen: The great connector

Students:

Danielle Hofmann, Hamza Malick, Urooba Abid, samuel Croes

School:

Farmingdale Senior High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Lorie Sheinwald

Abstract:

We plan to similarly use DNA barcoding to gain a broader insight on these phylogenetic relationship between fungi, lichen, moss and algae. The commonly accepted theory between botany experts is that Moss evolved from a simple filamentous alga (Moss-Evolution). Bryophytes “exhibit phenotypic characters or innovations in both the gametophyte and sporophyte, which enabled them to be adapted to the existence on land, and in particular, to optimize their reproductive capacity by spore dispersion” (Origin..of land plants). If bryophytes are considered the first land plants directly evolved from a green algal ancestor, there is a hole in the evolutionary timeline between the two organisms due to variances in life cycle and structure. Lichen, theoretically, could be this missing link. Using DNA barcoding we can help to further our understanding of this relationship between these three branches of life.

Poster:

Team samples: