Lichens are the mutualistic association of fungus (mycobiont) and algae (photobiont). Lichens, also called as lichenized fungi consist of about 20,000 species in the world, whereas the known photobionts are only about 150 species from 56 genera. In India, lichens are represented by 2532 species under 324 genera and 78 families, including 541 endemics species. Information on photobionts systematics remains scanty in India. The detailed study on photobionts not only reveal their diversity within and across the lichen taxa but also yield an answer to the evolutionary questions. Usually, photobionts are isolated by the micropipette, spray, and cutting methods as a convenient procedure, but these methods are very tedious and time-consuming. DNA sequence-based studies provide a reliable, cost-effective, and accessible solution to the existing problem of species identification and characterization. Phylogenetic analyses of lichens and photobionts are mostly carried out by nuclear ITS sequences. In the present study photobionts were isolated from 4 samples of lichens belonging to genera Usnea. These lichens were collected from Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas. Isolated photobionts were cultured and identified by light microscopy, confocal microscopy, and molecular tools. DNA was amplified and sequenced by using universal nuITS primers. Simultaneously the lichenized fungi also been investigated by using morphological, chemical, and molecular methods. The main focus of this study is to unravel the diversity and evolutionary relationships of Coccomyxa photobionts in lichenized fungi. This study was aimed to provide an overview of the host specificity and diversity of the Coccomyxa photobionts. The study revealed that the Coccomyxa species of photobionts are greatly host-specific to genera Usnea. This is the first report from India about the diversity of Coccomyxa photobionts associated with the lichen. Besides sequence-based assessment of photobionts from the Indian subcontinent, highlighting the dire necessity for further research on this direction.
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