Chromosome-level genome assembly of the photobiont microalga Trebouxia sp. ‘A48’ from the lichen Xanthoria parietina

Tagirdzhanova, Gulnara, Raistrick, Jasper and Talbot, Nicholas J. (2025) Chromosome-level genome assembly of the photobiont microalga Trebouxia sp. ‘A48’ from the lichen Xanthoria parietina. New Phytologist. ISSN 0028-646X

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Abstract

Lichens are symbiotic assemblies consisting of multiple organisms, chiefly a fungus and a photosynthetic microorganism, or photobiont. Among diverse photobionts, the most prevalent is the chlorophyte alga Trebouxia. We produced a chromosome-level assembly of Trebouxia sp. ‘A48’, a photobiont of Xanthoria parietina. The genome was assembled into 20 contigs, of which 16 had telomeric repeats at both ends and likely represent complete chromosomes. We compared this genome with those of other Trebouxia species and analyzed it to investigate adaptations to the lichen lifestyle. We then used the genome to profile gene expression in axenic culture and in lichen thalli. The predicted secretome is enriched in hydrolases and redox enzymes and contains carbohydrate-binding proteins potentially involved in cell-to-cell recognition and adhesion. We identified genes potentially involved in carbon concentrating and confirmed two instances of ancient horizontal gene transfer from fungi. The genome and the strain of Trebouxia sp. ‘A48’ provide a resource for the community to research algal evolution and lichen symbiosis.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability: The genome assembly and annotation and the raw data are publicly available (ENA project: PRJEB95800, WGS Sequence Set: CBIHSB010000000.1). All scripts created for this project and detailed information on the usage of bioinformatics software are available at GitHub (https://github.com/metalichen/2025-Trebouxia-genome). Acknowledgements: This work was supported by grants from The Halpin Family, The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BBS/E/J/000PR9798 to NJT. The authors thank Maike Lorenz (SAG) for help with depositing the algal strain and Alison MacFadyen for help with depositing data.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > The Sainsbury Laboratory
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
Related URLs:	https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2025 16:30
Last Modified:	16 Nov 2025 07:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100997
DOI:	10.1111/nph.70728

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