alleryStart learning →In a lichen, what does the algal partner contribute?
AIt makes food autotrophically and shares some
BIt absorbs water and minerals from surroundings
CIt anchors the pair firmly to rock and to bark
DIt fixes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia gas
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. It makes food autotrophically and shares some
1. Lichens are symbiotic associations of fungi with cyanobacteria or green algae.
2. The algal partner, the phycobiont, makes food autotrophically and shares some of it with the fungus.
3. The fungal partner, the mycobiont, absorbs water and minerals from the environment and makes them available to the alga.
4. So absorbing water and minerals is the contribution of the wrong partner in this pairing.
5. If one partner were separated from the other, both would die.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 31 "Soil and Plant Nutrition", section 31.3 Nutritional Adaptations of Plants_
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