Genome sequencing of a novel Verticillium dahliae strain (huangweibingjun)
Vincent Ninkuu, Zhixin Liu, Hao Liu, Chunyang Li, Yaping Zhou, Qianli Zhao, Aizhi Qin, Mengfan Li, Peibo Gao, Lulu Yan, Xiao Song, Lu Kong, Yajie Xie, Enzhi Guo, Xuwu Sun
Abstract
Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne pathogenic fungus that causes vascular discoloration and wilting in a broad spectrum of plant hosts, affecting about 400 species, such as cotton, potatoes, watermelon, cucumber, spinach, etc. In 2021, V. dahliae was estimated to cause about 15-20% reduction in cotton in China. Here, we report the genome sequencing of a novel strain named huangweibingjun, isolated from diseased cotton roots in the Henan province of China. The huangweibingjun genome consists of a total size of 35.84 Mb, GC content of 59.835%, and harbors six chromosomes (scaffold7561, scaffold7329, scaffold7795, scaffold5491, scaffold5473, and scaffold4511). The genome architecture showed a high diversity of cell wall-degrading secretory proteins that might influence the pathogenicity of the fungal strain. Moreover, preliminary metabolic pathway prediction showed that this novel strain synthesizes polyketide, terpenoids, shikimic acid-derived compounds and could also be aflatoxigenic. Consistent with other pathogenic microbes, the huangweibingjun genome comprises several virulent-associated genes. This genome assembly lays the foundation for further investigation of the pathogenicity of huangweibingjun.