Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #367910
Research Project: Mitigating Alternate Bearing of Pecan - Bridge Project

Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research

Title: Chromosome-level reference genome of Venturia effusa, causative agent of pecan scab

Author
item WINTER, DAVID - Massey University
item CHARLTON, NIKKI - Noble Research Institute
item KROM, NICK - Noble Research Institute
item SHILLER, J - Noble Research Institute
item Bock, Clive
item COX, MURRAY - Massey University
item YOUNG, CAROLYN - Noble Research Institute

Submitted to: Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/17/2019
Publication Date: 2/1/2020
Citation: Winter, D.J., Charlton, N.D., Krom, N., Shiller, J., Bock, C.H., Cox, M.P., Young, C.A. 2020. Chromosome-level reference genome of Venturia effusa, causative agent of pecan scab. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. 33:149-152. https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-08-19-0236-A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-08-19-0236-A

Interpretive Summary: Pecan scab is caused by the plant pathogenic fungus Venturia effusa. It is a devastating disease of pecan and causes economic losses on susceptible cultivars in the southeastern U.S. To increase our knowledge of the pathogen we generated a complete genome reference of an isolate of the pecan scab fungus The genome is 45.2 Mb represented by 20 chromosomes and contains 10,820 genes, of which 7,619 have at least one functional annotation. This genome represents the first full chromosome level assembly of any Venturia species, and is a basis for future studies to improve our understanding of the pathogen, and to eventually provide better management of the disease.

Technical Abstract: Pecan scab, caused by Venturia effusa, is a devastating disease of pecan (Carya illinoinensis), which results in economic losses on susceptible cultivars throughout the southeastern U.S. To enhance our understanding of pathogenicity in V. effusa, we have generated a complete telomere-to-telomere genome reference of V. effusa isolate FRT5LL7-Albino. By combining Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION data, we assembled a 45.2 Mb genome represented by 20 chromosomes and containing 10,820 genes, of which 7,619 have at least one functional annotation. The likely causative mutation of the albino phenotype was identified as a single base insertion and a resulting frameshift in the gene encoding the polyketide synthase ALM1. This genome represents the first full chromosome level assembly of any Venturia species.