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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 #416135
Research Project: Development of Pathogen- and Plant-Based Genetic Tools and Disease Mitigation Methods for Tropical Perennial Crops

Location: Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory

Title: Draft hybrid genome sequence of phytopathogen Marasmius tenuissimus strain MS-2, isolated from cacao in Ghana

Author
item Yulfo-Soto, Gabdiel
item BARUAH, INDRANI - Orise Fellow
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: Microbiology Resource Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/4/2024
Publication Date: 8/30/2024
Citation: Yulfo-Soto, G.E., Baruah, I., Amoaka-Attah, I., Bukari, Y., Meinhardt, L.W., Bailey, B., Cohen, S.P. 2024. Draft hybrid genome sequence of phytopathogen Marasmius tenuissimus strain MS-2, isolated from cacao in Ghana. Microbiology Resource Announcements. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00714-24.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00714-24

Interpretive Summary: Global chocolate production is threatened by diseases of cacao trees such as thread blight disease. Thread blight is caused by a group of fungi in cacao-growing areas around the world, including South and Central America, the West Indies, and Africa, but these fungi have not been thoroughly studied. In this work, we prepared a high-quality genome for a species of thread blight fungus using advanced and affordable in-house sequencing. The genome contains detailed information about how the fungus causes disease and how it has evolved from other fungi. This work serves as a proof-of-concept for using in-house sequencing as an efficient tool for studying cacao diseases. This manuscript also provides knowledge that will enable cacao researchers to generate new strategies for fighting thread blight disease and protect the economically and culturally important production of chocolate.

Technical Abstract: Here we report a hybrid genome of Marasmius tenuissimus strain MS-2, an isolate that causes thread blight diseases in cacao (Theobroma cacao). This strain was collected in Tafo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The final assembly consists of 2,083 contigs spanning 69,843,039 bp, with BUSCO completeness of 92.6% and an N50 186,871.