Whole-Genome Sequence Resources for the <i>Cercospora beticola</i> Species Complex (<i>Cercospora beticola</i>, <i>Cercospora tecta</i>, and <i>Cercospora americana</i>) from <i>Beta vulgaris</i> in New York

Cercospora leaf spot is a devastating foliar disease affecting table and sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris) worldwide and primarily caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Cercospora beticola. Two new additional species, C. tecta and C. americana, have recently been identified as causal agents of Cercospora leaf spot in table beet in New York. The limited availability of the genomes of C. beticola and lack of genomic data for C. tecta and C. americana hinder studies into evolutionary relationships, pathogenicity mechanisms, and the development of species-specific tests. Here, we report the whole-genome sequences of each isolate of C. beticola (Ch16-Cb), C. tecta (Tb14-081), and C. americana (Tb14-140). Genome sizes ranged from 34.5 to 35 Mb, with high completeness scores (&gt;99%). Genome annotation revealed over 11,000 putative genes, 1,000 secreted proteins, and 2,300 transmembrane domains per genome. Effector prediction identified over 300 effectors, including both cytoplasmic and apoplastic types. Additionally, secondary metabolite analysis uncovered 62 to 67 gene clusters. Whole-genome average nucleotide identity analysis confirmed &gt;99% identity among the three species and high similarity (&gt;98%) to C. apii. These resources facilitate comparative analyses, improved species resolution within the Cercospora genus, and enhanced species-specific detection. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .