Lichens and Galls. Two families of chimeras in the space of form

Abstract

Galls are produced by the interaction between a plant and a different kind of organism, commonly an insect. Many galls, especially those involving an insect, have a very specific and often complex shape, comparable to the specific and often complex shape of organisms capable of reproduction. Galls, however, do not reproduce –each individual gall takes origin from a new interaction betweenthe plant and the external agent. To some extent, the same applies to lichens: the specific and sometimes complex structure of their thallus may have transgenerationalcontinuity through fragmentation or another kind of vegetative reproduction, but gets completely disrupted by sexual reproduction, following which a new lichen is reconstructed by a newly established symbiosis between a fungus and an algal partner. How far is their form constrained by the structure of the two partners? How can natural selection act on their form? 
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Minelli, A. (2017). Lichens and Galls. Two families of chimeras in the space of form. Azafea: Revista De Filosofía, 19(1), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.14201/17411

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Author Biography

Alessandro Minelli

,
Universidad de Padua
Dipartimento di Biologia. Università di Padova. Viale G. Colombo 3, 35121 Padova, Italia.
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