ABSTRACT
Corinectria fuckeliana, Neonectria hederae, and N. punicea are fungi in the family Nectriaceae that cause canker diseases of numerous hardwood trees, conifers, and woody perennials, often leading to plant mortality. Here, we report draft genome sequences for these three phytopathogenic fungal species. The genome sizes are consistent with those reported for other members of the Nectriaceae (28 to 43 Mb). These are the first genome resources available for C. fuckeliana, N. hederae, and N. punicea. These genome sequences may provide insights into the mechanisms of virulence and pathogenicity employed by these three destructive plant pathogens, and are resources suitable for the development of molecular markers that could be used for species identification, diagnostic tools and barcodes, and population studies.
Subject(s)
Genome, Fungal , Hypocreales , Trees , Genome, Fungal/genetics , Hypocreales/genetics , Plant Bark/microbiology , Plant Diseases/microbiology , Plant Stems/microbiology , Trees/microbiology , Wood/microbiologyABSTRACT
The fungus Nectria galligena infects many species of hardwood trees, causing "perennial canker," "European canker," or "target canker." Cultures from ascospores produced in stromata on the cankers have confirmed the pathogen species, but the fungus has rarely been successfully isolated from inside the cankers. Concern for the sweet birch trees affected by this disease in Connecticut prompted us to try isolations, using a method successful in isolating chestnut tree pathogens. Small pieces of cankered bark were stabbed into Granny Smith apples and, after incubation in boxes in the laboratory, pure cultures of N. galligena were easily removed as the pathogen slowly grew out, unchallenged, into the tissue of the apples. This technique will now be used to sample the N. galligena population in the birch populations being studied.