Research Article

A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii

Volume: 16 Number: 2 October 24, 2025
TR EN

A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii

Abstract

Austroplaca giginyakii sp. nov., a new lichenized fungus species discovered in East Antarctica, is described and its taxonomic status is evaluated using an integrative approach. The species was investigated through morphological, chemical, and molecular (nrITS) analyses. Phylogenetic results based on ITS sequences indicate that A. giginyakii forms a distinct clade within the genus Austroplaca. Although morphologically similar to A. darbishirei, it is distinguished by its deeper red-orange thallus, blastidiate soralia, and blastidia dispersed over the entire thallus surface rather than being confined to squamule margins. ITS sequence comparisons confirm its genetic distinctiveness. The type specimen was found growing on mosses and lacks both apothecia and pycnidia. Combined morphological and molecular evidence supports the recognition of A. giginyakii as a new species.

Keywords

Project Number

FYG-2023-13398.

References

  1. Arup, U., Søchting, U., & Frödén, P. (2013). A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae. Nordic Journal of Botany, 31(1), 16–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00001.x
  2. Gardes, M., & Bruns, T. D. (1993). ITS primers with enhanced specificity for basidiomycetes—Application to the identification of mycorrhizae and rusts. Molecular Ecology, 2(2), 113–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1993.tb00005.x
  3. Guly, I., & Mykhaylenko, N. (2011). Biological researches around the Belarusian Antarctic Expedition’s camp (Vechernyaya Base, East Antarctica). Ukrainian Antarctic Journal, 9, 206–212. http://uaj.uac.gov.ua/index.php/uaj/article/view/315
  4. Halıcı, M. G., Möller, E., Timdal, E., Kahraman Yiğit, M., & Bölükbaşı, E. (2022). Rhizocarpon ozsoyae sp. nov. (Rhizocarpaceae, lichenized Ascomycetes) from James Ross Island (Antarctic Peninsula). Herzogia, 35(1), 105–114.
  5. Hall, T. A. (1999). BioEdit: A user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT. Nucleic Acids Symposium Series, 41, 95–98.
  6. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., & Tamura, K. (2016). MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33(7), 1870–1874. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw054
  7. Nilsson, R. H., Kristiansson, E., Ryberg, M., Hallenberg, N., & Larsson, K. H. (2008). Systematic exploration of sequence-based fungal classification. Systematic Biology, 57(4), 660–673. https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150802302423
  8. Øvstedal, D. O., & Lewis-Smith, R. I. (2001). Lichens of Antarctica and South Georgia: A guide to their identification and ecology. Cambridge University Press.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Plant and Fungus Systematics and Taxonomy

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 24, 2025

Submission Date

July 11, 2025

Acceptance Date

September 30, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: 2

APA
Halıcı, M. G., Yaystna, A., Güllü, M., & Yiğit, M. (2025). A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii. Mantar Dergisi, 16(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.30708/mantar.1740222
AMA
1.Halıcı MG, Yaystna A, Güllü M, Yiğit M. A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii. Mantar Dergisi. 2025;16(2):125-132. doi:10.30708/mantar.1740222
Chicago
Halıcı, Mehmet Gökhan, Aleksandr Yaystna, Mithat Güllü, and Merve Yiğit. 2025. “A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca Giginyakii”. Mantar Dergisi 16 (2): 125-32. https://doi.org/10.30708/mantar.1740222.
EndNote
Halıcı MG, Yaystna A, Güllü M, Yiğit M (October 1, 2025) A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii. Mantar Dergisi 16 2 125–132.
IEEE
[1]M. G. Halıcı, A. Yaystna, M. Güllü, and M. Yiğit, “A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii”, Mantar Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 125–132, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.30708/mantar.1740222.
ISNAD
Halıcı, Mehmet Gökhan - Yaystna, Aleksandr - Güllü, Mithat - Yiğit, Merve. “A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca Giginyakii”. Mantar Dergisi 16/2 (October 1, 2025): 125-132. https://doi.org/10.30708/mantar.1740222.
JAMA
1.Halıcı MG, Yaystna A, Güllü M, Yiğit M. A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii. Mantar Dergisi. 2025;16:125–132.
MLA
Halıcı, Mehmet Gökhan, et al. “A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca Giginyakii”. Mantar Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 2, Oct. 2025, pp. 125-32, doi:10.30708/mantar.1740222.
Vancouver
1.Mehmet Gökhan Halıcı, Aleksandr Yaystna, Mithat Güllü, Merve Yiğit. A New Lichenized Fungal Species from East Antarctica: Austroplaca giginyakii. Mantar Dergisi. 2025 Oct. 1;16(2):125-32. doi:10.30708/mantar.1740222

The works submitted to our journals are first judged grammatically. After this phase, articles are sent two reviewers. If necessary, the third reviewer is assessed. In the publication of works, a decision is made by evaluating the level of contribution to science and readers within the criteria specified in the writing rules. Reviewers are requested to submit their assessments within 30 days at the latest. The reviewers' evaluations and the answers to these evaluations are reviewed by the editor and it is decided whether the work will be published or not.

International Peer Reviewed Journal

The journal doesn’t have APC or any submission charges

Creative Commons Lisansı
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License