Reindeer lichens are having more sex than expected

Scientists thought that reindeer lichens (moss-looking organisms that form a major part of reindeer diets) reproduced mainly asexually by cloning themselves. But it turns out, reindeer lichens are having a lot more sex than scientists expected. In a new study, researchers found that the reindeer lichens they examined have unexpected levels of genetic diversity, indicating that the lichens have been doing more gene-mixing with each other than the scientists would have guessed.

source https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210201170607.htm