A near telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the tobacco root rot pathogen Fusarium oxysporum

Fusarium oxysporum is a critically important pathogen with significant impacts on both agriculture and public health. In agriculture, it causes vascular wilt and root rot in numerous crops, resulting in substantial economic losses. This threat is compounded by the fungus's high genetic diversity, adaptability, and persistence in the environment, which make its control particularly challenging. In this study, we report a near telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assembly of Fusarium oxysporum strain Fo-129, a highly virulent strain causing tobacco root rot in China. It achieved a BUSCO completeness of 96.9%. The genome contains 24 identifiable telomeres, 9.40% repeat sequences, 15,102 protein-coding genes, 370 ncRNAs, and 538 candidate effector protein-coding genes. Additionally, 52 secondary metabolite gene clusters and 714 carbohydrate-active enzymes were also identified. This near T2T genome assembly of a pathogenic F. oxysporum strain provides a crucial genomic resource for advancing research into fungal pathogenicity, host adaptation, accessory chromosome evolution, and the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions.