Draft genome sequences of Chrysoporthe austroafricana, Diplodia scrobiculata, Fusarium nygamai, Leptographium lundbergii, Limonomyces culmigenus, Stagonosporopsis tanaceti, and Thielaviopsis punctulata

Authors: Wight-Malapi, Martha; BEIRN, LISA - Rutgers University; VELTRI, DANIEL - Rutgers University; Crouch, Jo Anne; WINGFIELD, BRENDA - University Of Pretoria; ADES, PETER - University Of Melbourne; AL-NAEMI, FATIMA - Qatar University; BIHON, WUBON - University Of Pretoria; DE BEER, WILHELM - University Of Pretoria; DE VOS, LIESCHEN - University Of Pretoria; DUONG, TUAN - University Of Pretoria; FIELDS, CHRISTOPHER - University Of Pretoria; FOURIE, GERDA - University Of Pretoria; KANZI, AQUILLAH - University Of Pretoria; PETHYBRIDGE, SARAH - University Of Illinois; RADWAN, OSMAN - University Of Illinois; RENDON, GLORIA - University Of Illinois; SLIPPERS, BERNARD - University Of Pretoria; SANTANA, QUENTIN - University Of Pretoria; STEENKAMP, EMMA - University Of Pretoria; TAYLOR, PAUL - University Of Melbourne; VAGHEFI, NILOOFAR - Cornell University; VAN DER MERWE, NICHOLAS - University Of Pretoria; WINGFIELD, MICHAEL - University Of Pretoria

Submitted to: IMA Fungus
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/16/2015
Publication Date: 6/22/2015
Citation: Wingfield, B., Ades, P., Al-Naemi, F., Beirn, L., Bihon, W., Crouch, J., De Beer, W., De Vos, L., Duong, T., Fields, C., Fourie, G., Kanzi, A., Wight-Malapi, M., Pethybridge, S., Radwan, O., Rendon, G., Slippers, B., Santana, Q., Steenkamp, E., Taylor, P., Vaghefi, N., Van Der Merwe, N., Veltri, D., Wingfield, M. 2015. Draft genome sequences of Chrysoporthe austroafricana, Diplodia scrobiculata, Fusarium nygamai, Leptographium lundbergii, Limonomyces culmigenus, Stagonosporopsis tanaceti, and Thielaviopsis punctulata. IMA Fungus. 6(1):231-246.

Interpretive Summary: Species of the fungus Limonomyces cause several important diseases of turfgrasses worldwide. One of these species, Limonomyces culmigenus, is commonly found on grasses yet is not known to be harmful to the host plant. In order to understand why this fungus does not cause plant disease and to learn the genetic mechanisms this fungus uses to interact with the grass host, the complete genome of L. culmigenus was sequenced and genes predicted. This first report of the genome of this fungus significantly revealed over 1,000 secreted proteins. Comparison of this genome sequence with the genome sequences of closely related fungi that cause disease will help scientists to identify DNA and genes involved in the disease process of crop plants, thereby leading to new methods for controlling turfgrass diseases.

Technical Abstract: Basidiomycete fungi in the genus Limonomyces are important pathogens of turfgrasses, causing pink patch and cream leaf blight diseases on numerous grass hosts worldwide. Much is unknown about the biology and taxonomy of these fungi, and molecular resources are extremely rare. Here, we report draft nuclear and mitochondrial genome assemblies for Limonomyces culmigenus CBS 661.85, a dikaryotic member of the genus Limonomyces associated with grass hosts. The nuclear genome assembly of L. culmigenus is 36.1 Mb, with 16,394 predicted genes. This assembly provides evidence in support of the dikaryotic nature of the fungus, based on single nucleotide variant profiles, depth of read coverage from unique and allelic scaffolds, and from divergent copies of genes in the A and B mating type loci. The mitochondrial genome assembly measures 67.4 kb, and includes tRNAs for all 20 amino acids, fourteen conserved mitochondrial genes, and nine homing endonucleases. The draft genome sequence of L. culmigenus is the first genome-scale molecular resource for the Corticiaceae family. The availability of this genomic data will provide opportunities to resolve longstanding questions regarding taxonomy for organisms in this group, and may contribute to our understanding of the lifestyle of L. culmigenus through comparative studies with closely related organisms.