#39 · Genomics

Reference-quality genomes and protein-family resources for fungal and arthropod systems

The four preprints share a resource-generation emphasis rather than a single mechanism. Three are genome-centred studies. A comparative core and accessory gene analysis of the rust fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi focuses on pathogenicity-associated gene families, with accessory genes thought to modulate host immunity. A chromosome-level 908 Mb assembly of the potato leafhopper Empoasca fabae reports 10 chromosome scaffolds, N50 96.2 Mb and 31,406 predicted genes. A near-complete 16-chromosome assembly of the keratitis-derived Fusarium oxysporum isolate MRL8996 was built with hybrid Nanopore and Hi-C scaffolding. The fourth, ArthroVerse, is a database of non-redundant protein families from arthropod-associated metagenomes, annotated with taxonomy, host associations and structure. The new contribution is reference-quality sequence and annotated gene-family content across fungal and arthropod-associated taxa. The host-immunity role of accessory genes in the rust item is presented as a hypothesis, not a demonstrated result.