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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 #414273
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 resource for the cacao thread blight-causing fungal pathogen Marasmiellus scandens

Author
item BARUAH, INDRANI - Orise Fellow
item LEUNG, JASON - Columbia University
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: 6/12/2024
Publication Date: 7/15/2024
Citation: Baruah, I., Leung, J., Amoaka-Attah, I., Bukari, Y., Meinhardt, L.W., Bailey, B., Cohen, S.P. 2024. A draft genome resource for the cacao thread blight-causing fungal pathogen Marasmiellus scandens. PhytoFrontiers. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-06-24-0065-A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-06-24-0065-A

Interpretive Summary: Thread blight disease is an increasing problem for global chocolate production. The disease, which affects cacao trees (the source of chocolate), is caused by multiple fungal species, but we know very little about these fungi. We used advanced DNA sequencing and computational analysis to produce a high-quality genome sequence for one of the fungi that causes thread blight disease. This sequence contains detailed information about how the fungus evolved and what weapons it uses to attack cacao trees and cause disease. This genome is of interest to chocolate researchers worldwide, including our collaborators at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, because it will enable researchers to develop tools and strategies to combat thread blight disease and help safeguard chocolate production.

Technical Abstract: Members of the Marasmiaceae family of basidiomycetous fungi cause the devastating thread blight disease (TBD) in cacao, Theobroma cacao, which is a threat to chocolate production worldwide. The most cited causal agent of TBD is Marasmiellus scandens, which appears as faint cream or dull white vegetative rhizomorphs (morphotype D) during infection. However, among recent TBD-causing Marasmiaceae isolations in Ghana, only 8% were M. scandens while the most isolates were Marasmius tenuissimus, for which we recently released a high-quality nuclear genome. Nonetheless, owing to the emerging threat of TBD to cacao, generating a high-quality genome assembly of the pathogen Marasmiellus scandens is of considerable importance. This announcement describes our assembly, annotation, and release of a draft nuclear genome for Maramiellus scandens strain GH-19, which enhances our understanding of both the genetic diversity of TBD-causing species in the family Marasmiaceae and the interaction between M. scandens and cacao.