Complete Reference Genome Resource Announcement: De Novo Genome Assembly and Functional Annotation for the Plant Pathogen <i>Fusarium cerealis</i>

Fusarium cerealis is a toxin-producing plant pathogen that affects important cereal crops like corn, wheat, and oats, making them susceptible to diseases and mycotoxins, particularly the type-B trichothecene nivalenol (NIV). This mycotoxin poses significant risks to both plant health and food safety and current genomic resources for F. cerealis are limited to fragmented draft sequences that lack contiguous structural resolution and robust annotation. The genomes of plant-pathogenic fungi are replete with an array of virulence genes that encode secondary metabolites which play critical roles in the incidence and severity of diseases. To address genomic resource limitation, this paper presents a highly contiguous, reference-quality genome assembly of F. cerealis, from long-read sequences (Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Oxford, UK). The final genome assembly (Flye) comprises 10 contigs, with half of the total assembled genome length contained in contigs that are at least 8.8 megabases (N50 = 8.8 Mb), indicating a substantial degree of continuity and quality. The largest contig reached a length of 11.8 megabases, and the mean genome coverage was 62-fold. AntiSMASH biosynthetic gene cluster analysis identified 47 clusters, indicating a rich potential for secondary metabolites useful for novel natural product and drug discovery. This newly generated draft genome represents a vital resource that will facilitate future research endeavors aimed at exploring the genomic characteristics of pathogenic F. cerealis species prevalent in the Midwest, with a focus on identifying novel secondary metabolites that may contribute to their virulence and adaptability in various agricultural environments.