Philipp Resl

About

I am a computational Biologist working at the University of Graz (Austria). My research is focused on a special form of mutualism in the kingdom of fungi, commonly called lichens. I combine classical lichenological work (fieldwork, ecology and microscopy) with phylogenetics, genomics and transcriptomics to disentangle phylogenetic relationships and characterize evolutionary patterns in this fascinating group of organisms.

Research

Phylogenetics and Taxonomy

My phylogenetic work is centered in the Ostropomycetidae, one of the two subclasses of Lecanoromycetes comprised mostly of crustose lichens. Currently my work is focused on the order Baeomycetales and even more specific on the genera Trapelia and Trapeliopsis. To support taxonomic hypotheses I combine the latest phylogenetic analyses with classical lichenological work.

Adaptive Evolution and Comparative Methods

I use various statistical models to analyze the evolution of characters observed in lichenized fungi. I am specifically interested in the different evolutionary consequences for highly specialized versus generalist lineages.

Comparative Genomics

In my comparative genomics work, I search sequenced genomes for signs of adaptations to different lifestyles and traces of their evolutionary past. I use comparative transcriptomics to study adaptations to different environmental conditions.

Publications

• T Pfingstl, V Vtípilová, H Ghlimová, J Mourek, J Steinová, TP Hessinger, S Schäffer, P Resl (2025) Oribatid mite fauna of three members of the lichen genus Cladonia in Europe – observations on species richness, endophagous juveniles and their morphology. Acarologia. doi:10.24349/nalv-gpxm
• AJ Cruz-Laufer, MPM Vanhove, L Bachmann, M Barson, H Bassirou, AR Bitja Nyom, M Geraerts, C Hahn, T Huyse, GK Kasembele, S Njom, P Resl, K Smeets, N Kmentová (2025) Adaptive evolution of stress response genes in parasites aligns with host niche diversity. BMC Biology. doi:10.1186/s12915-024-02091-w
• V Vtípilová, E Timdal, E Stodůlková, J Semerád, P Resl, J Steinová (2025) Cladonia rubrotincta, a new species distinct from C. norvegica.

• S Koblmüller, P Resl, N Klar, H Bauer, L Zangl, C Hahn (2024) DNA Barcoding for Species Identification of Moss-Dwelling Invertebrates: Performance of Nanopore Sequencing and Coverage in Reference Database. Diversity. doi:10.3390/d16040196
• AM Mc Cartney, G Formenti, A Mouton, ..., P Resl, et al. (2024) The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics. npj Biodiversity. doi:10.1038/s44185-024-00054-6

• J Almer, P Resl, H Gudmundsson, D Warshan, OS Andrésson, S Werth (2023) Symbiont‐specific responses to environmental cues in a threesome lichen symbiosis. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.16814

• P Resl, AR Bujold, G Tagirdzhanova, P Meidl, SF Rallo, M Kono, S Fernández-Brime, H Guðmundsson, ÓS Andrésson, L Muggia, H Mayrhofer, JP McCutcheon, M Wedin, S Werth, LM Willis, T Spribille (2022) Large differences in carbohydrate degradation and transport potential among lichen fungal symbionts. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30218-6
• D Díaz-Escandón, G Tagirdzhanova, D Vanderpool, CCG Allen, A Aptroot, O Češka, DL Hawksworth, A Huereca, K Knudsen, J Kocourková, R Lücking, P Resl, T Spribille (2022) Genome-level analyses resolve an ancient lineage of symbiotic ascomycetes. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.014
• T Chavarria-Pizarro, P Resl, A Janjic, S Werth (2022) Gene expression responses to thermal shifts in the endangered lichen Lobaria pulmonaria. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.16281
• T Chavarria-Pizarro, P Resl, T Kuhl-Nagel, A Janjic, F Fernandez Mendoza, S Werth (2022) Antibiotic-Induced Treatments Reveal Stress-Responsive Gene Expression in the Endangered Lichen Lobaria pulmonaria. Journal of Fungi. doi:10.3390/jof8060625
• JV Gerasimova, A Beck, S Werth, P Resl (2022) High Diversity of Type I Polyketide Genes in Bacidia rubella as Revealed by the Comparative Analysis of 23 Lichen Genomes. Journal of Fungi. doi:10.3390/jof8050449
• T Spribille, P Resl, DE Stanton, G Tagirdzhanova (2022) Evolutionary biology of lichen symbioses. The New Phytologist. doi:10.1111/nph.18048

• D Díaz-Escandón, DL Hawksworth, M Powell, P Resl, T Spribille (2021) The British chalk specialist Lecidea lichenicola auct. revealed as a new genus of Lichinomycetes. Fungal Biology. doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2021.01.007
• P Resl, C Hahn (2021) phylociraptor: rapid phylogenomic tree calculator. GitHub. reslp/phylociraptor

• T Spribille, AM Fryday, S Pérez-Ortega, M Svensson, T Tønsberg, S Ekman, H Holien, P Resl, K Schneider, E Stabentheiner, H Thues, J Vondrák, L Sharman (2020) Lichens and associated fungi from Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. The Lichenologist. doi:10.1017/S0024282920000079

• P Resl, F Fernández-Mendoza, H Mayrhofer, T Spribille (2018) The evolution of fungal substrate specificity in a widespread group of crustose lichens. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0640
• M Chytrý, et al., P Resl, et al. (2018) A modern analogue of the Pleistocene steppe‐tundra ecosystem in southern Siberia. Boreas. doi:10.1111/bor.12338

• M Chytrý, et al., P Resl, et al. (2017) Refugial ecosystems in central Asia as indicators of biodiversity change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Ecological Indicators. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.12.033

• P Resl, H Mayrhofer, SR Clayden, T Spribille, G Thor, T Tønsberg, JW Sheard (2016) Morphological, chemical and species delimitation analyses provide new taxonomic insights into two groups of Rinodina. The Lichenologist. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000359
• T Spribille, V Tuovinen, P Resl, et al. (2016) Basidiomycete yeasts in the cortex of ascomycete macrolichens. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aaf8287
• K Schneider, P Resl, T Spribille (2016) Escape from the cryptic species trap: lichen evolution on both sides of a cyanobacterial acquisition event. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.13636

• P Resl, K Schneider, M Westberg, C Printzen, Z Palice, G Thor, A Fryday, H Mayrhofer, T Spribille (2015) Diagnostics for a troubled backbone: testing topological hypotheses of trapelioid lichenized fungi in a large-scale phylogeny of Ostropomycetidae. Fungal Diversity. doi:10.1007/s13225-015-0332-y
• K Schneider, P Resl, M Westberg, T Spribille (2015) A new, highly effective primer pair to exclude algae when amplifying nuclear large ribosomal subunit (LSU) DNA from lichens. The Lichenologist. doi:10.1017/S002428291500016X

• T Spribille, P Resl, T Ahti, S Pérez-Ortega, H Mayrhofer, HT Lumbsch (2014) Molecular systematics of the wood-inhabiting, lichen-forming genus Xylographa with eight new species. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses.