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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #412691
Research Project: Development of Pathogen- and Plant-Based Genetic Tools and Disease Mitigation Methods for Tropical Perennial Crops

Location: Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory

Title: A draft genome for a cacao thread blight-causing isolate of Paramarasmius palmivorus

Author
item BARUAH, INDRANI - Non ARS Employee
item AMOAKA-ATTAH, ISHMAEL - Cocoa Research Institute Of Ghana
item BUKARI, YAHAYA - Cocoa Research Institute Of Ghana
item Meinhardt, Lyndel
item BAILEY, BRYAN - Retired ARS Employee
item Cohen, Stephen

Submitted to: PhytoFrontiers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/14/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Global chocolate production is threatened by losses due to diseases caused by microbes. Thread blight is a widespread disease caused by fungi known as Marasmiaceae. However, little is known about how these fungi mount attacks against their hosts, cacao trees. In this work, we sequenced the genome of the pathogen Paramarasmius palmivorus, one of the Marasmiaceae species isolated from cacao trees in Ghana and described the genome features in detail. We identified genes potentially important for disease severity, known as effectors, and have deposited this resource in a public repository (NCBI) to allow access to the global research community. Releasing this genome allows researchers to know more about how this pathogen causes thread blight disease in cacao trees and will help them develop new tools and strategies for controlling the disease and protecting the chocolate industry.

Technical Abstract: Thread blight disease (TBD) is an emerging foliar disease on cacao (Theobroma cacao), the source of chocolate. Multiple species of pathogenic fungi in the family Marasmiaceae are responsible for causing TBD in cacao. Our recent release of a high-quality draft genome utilizing a hybrid long- and short-read sequencing approach for the most frequently isolated TBD-causing fungus, Marasmius tenuissimus isolate GH-37, led us to use explore using this approach to further understand other members of the family. A recent phylogenetic study showed that Marasmius palmivorus, the second most frequently isolated TBD-causing fungus in Ghana, was phylogenetically distinct from the Marasmiaceae genera Marasmius and Moniliophothora, leading to the naming of a new genus, Paramarasmius. The genus currently contains two species, the type species P. palmivorus and P. mesosporus. This report describes our release of a draft nuclear genome assembly and annotation of P. palmivorus strain GH-12 derived from long- and short-read sequencing. This draft genome provides insight into the pathogenicity and evolution of an emerging pathogen.