Near-Infrared Metabolomic Fingerprinting Study of Lichen Thalli and Phycobionts in Culture: Aquaphotomics of Dehydration

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an accurate, fast and safe technique whose full potential remains to be exploited. Lichens are a paradigm of symbiotic association, with extraordinary properties, such as abiotic stress tolerance and adaptation to anhydrobiosis, but subjacent mechanisms await elucidation. Our aim is characterizing the metabolomic NIRS fingerprints of and thalli, and of the cultured phycobionts and . Thalli collected in an air-dry state and fresh cultivated phycobionts were directly used for spectra acquisition in reflectance mode. Thalli water peaks were associated to the solvation shell (1354 nm) and sugar-water interactions (1438 nm). While northern-southern orientation related with two hydrogen bonded (S) water, the site was related to one hydrogen bonded (S). Water, lipids (saturated and unsaturated), and polyols/glucides contributed to the profiles of lichen thalli and microalgae. , with higher desiccation tolerance, shows higher S water than . In contrast, fresh phycobionts are dominated by free water. Whereas shows higher solvation water content, possesses more unsaturated lipids. Aquaphotomics demonstrates the involvement of strongly hydrogen bonded water conformations, polyols/glucides, and unsaturated/saturated fatty acids in the dehydration process, and supports a "rubbery" state allowing enzymatic activity during anhydrobiosis.