The first genome sequence of Phomopsis vexans: a fungal pathogen causing Phomopsis blight in eggplant

Phomopsis vexans is a phytopathogenic fungus that causes Phomopsis blight in eggplant, one of the major issues limiting eggplant production. In this study, the genome of a P. vexans isolate PV4 was sequenced for the first time and assembled through Illumina and Nanopore sequencing, generating 7.28 gigabase (Gb) clean data. The genome size of P. vexans is about 59.78 Mb, with 51.24% GC content, 26 contigs, and an N50 contig length of 4.93 Mb. The integrity of this genome was 97.59% as evaluated by BUSCO v2.0. A total of 15,034 protein-coding genes, 2.89 Mb (4.84%) annotated repetitive elements, and 305 non-coding RNAs were identified. The Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (CAZy) database was used to annotate 1,206 genes. Moreover, 134 effector proteins were predicted. A homology search and phylogenetic analysis showed that P. vexans is evolutionarily closer to Diaporthe helianthi than to Diaporthe ampelina but displays different synteny from both of them. Overall, we believe that this genome will serve as an important resource for studies on the pathogenesis of P. vexans.

Automated summary

In this study, the genome of the phytopathogenic fungus Phomopsis vexans was sequenced and assembled for the first time. The genome size, gene annotations, repetitive elements, and non-coding RNAs were identified. The analysis also revealed the evolutionary relationship of P. vexans with other related pathogens. This genome provides an important resource for studying the pathogenesis of P. vexans.