What's in a Lichen? How Scientists Got It Wrong for 150 Years | Short Film Showcase

For 150 years, scientists believed lichen were defined by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and algae. Meet the team of researchers who upended this belief in this short film by Andy Johnson, Talia Yuki Moore, Chris A. Johns, and Kate Furby.

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The fungus provides structure and support for the organism, while the algae produces food through photosynthesis. However, researchers recently discovered that certain lichen have an additional fungus in the mix. This threesome was revealed after a team set out to explain what made one type of lichen toxic versus another that was seemingly identical.

Watch the collaborative process unfold in this short film by Andy Johnson, Talia Yuki Moore, Chris A. Johns, and Kate Furby.

The film was created with support from Day's Edge Productions at the International Wildlife Film Festival's Filmmaker Labs. Macro photography by Tim Wheeler.

Learn more about John McCutcheon's Lab at the University of Montana.

What's in a Lichen? How Scientists Got It Wrong for 150 Years | Short Film Showcase

National Geographic

[NatGeo]

Wow, Toby has over 14, 000 lichen in his lab! What do you think of this discovery of the third partner in a lichen's symbiosis?

[LittleTreeBlue]

Wait, this left me with so many more questions than answers. I don’t understand the role of this third partner, and is it always the same third partner, or are their more lichen with three partners but they’re different combos? Also, do all lichen have a third partner or just some? And can we go back to why those two lichen were different but genetically the same? Like, wouldn’t the DNA of the third partner show up? If not, why? And did only one of the two versions have that third partner while the other was just a pair, or did they both have the third partner but it was acting differently in the two different groups? … I was psyched to learn more about this but instead I feel like I walked into an episode summary from the 4th season of a tv show I’ve never seen.

[ExopMan]

I had no idea that lichens were essentially a terrestrial counterpart to coral. Very similar symbiosis dynamic.

[karmakittenz]

This is why I love science. Hold a belief for a 150 years, find out its not correct, and it changes. Even celebrated.

[raphaello]

Lichens are an indicator of good air quality.

[Trund]

I lichen this very much, moss definitely.

[jb]

I wish the video talked more about the lichen. Did they figure out the function of the asco fungus and the basidio fungus?

[MlSHKlN]

so it turns out that it wasnt just fungus and algae, but rather it was fungus and algae
HOW COULD THEY HAVE BEEN SO WRONG????

[vmitchinson]

I remember when ulcers were caused by stress. One day, maybe more, a doctor in Australia figured out that ulcers were caused by bacteria. Well how did Turtle Island doctors react. They refused to believe it for many years. Than they finally accepted it. Some research to develope a medicine and than patients got a treatment that cured the disease. Skeptical attitudes are a good thing. It prevents bad or incorrect assumptions being used too soon before the new therapy is proven effective.

[benbiagioni]

Apparently there is more to be studied before lichenology is ready to explain itself in more detail. Interesting to see so much curiosity on the subject. There should be more resources to help explain this phenomenon because it most certainly has clues and answers to bigger riddles in the process of life. Makes me wonder what kind of medicine we might be missing out on.

[garywalton]

One fungus, one algae was the view they had on lichens? I don't think so as they seem too smart to be stuck in that outdated idea. It has been known for decades that this was not true. For example, the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria has been known for many years to be a partnership of a fungus, a green algae, and a cyanobacteria. And never once did National Geographic mention that the third organism in the horsehair lichens (Bryoria) was a yeast which is also the culprit that makes yellow horsehair lichens toxic.

[rscpeace]

Fascinating and as a Ph.D. material scientist who also has a background in natural product chemistry, I am always awed by the diversity and the intricacy of nature's inner workings. Only science is the real code breaker of nature's secrets. I always tell my children and students that the REAL MAGICIAN is Nature, period.

[audrey]

Easily my favorite organisms ever. I live on a river, with a large rock overlooking the falls. There has to be just about every lixhen possible. Theyre all so alien and beautiufl at the same time. Ive tried and had various levels of success in keeping it in terrariums. Its truly stunning.

[davidsweeney]

You claim these chaps have discovered something revolutionary about the biology of lichens but then explain virtually nothing about it. That's pretty useless unless this is just the trailer for a full length documentary.

[steelonius]

When did this discovery take place? I was taught, about 15 years ago, that lichen could be up to three kingdoms: Fungi, Protista, and Monera. Which textbooks were saying one fungi and one algae? Based on the lessons I got it never even occurred to me it was a 1+1 mix per lichen. Maybe I was a bad student and didn't listen to the details.

[tamara]

More please! This is beautiful and fascinating. I think the discovery just shows us that we are too easily satisfied with scientific explanations and don't look further. Science needs to be always challenging it's own theories.

[dariyababumalapati]

That's the beauty of science, it has no problem admitting it's mistakes and open to rectification.

[intellectualblackking]

Not only did learn a lot of random facts bout lichen and how to say the word I found out where the word symbiosis came from

[deadsi]

Can the fungi and algae live separately? And if so can you introduce one to the other and make them form a symbiote?

[drrota]

If I could give this a 1000 thumbs up I would! - yes - its amazing what happens when someone looks more closely at common held beliefs. That's what makes science so amazing 150 years can go by and new proof is found and we build on it bit by bit. - great job!