Draft Genome Resource for <i>Macrophomina phaseolina</i> Associated With Charcoal Rot in Sorghum

Abstract

<i>Macrophomina phaseolina</i> is a soil-borne phytopathogenic fungus that causes charcoal rot in several plant species, including sorghum. We constructed a draft genome of <i>M. phaseolina</i> isolate BRIP 70780a from sorghum, using long-read native DNA from MinION sequencing, which was error-corrected using short-read Illumina MiSeq reads. The draft genome, consisting of 22 contigs with an N₅₀ of 4,257,441 bp, 99.3% complete benchmarking universal single-copy orthologs, and 14,471 genes, is a valuable resource to aid future studies in population genomics and molecular diagnostic marker development for rapid detection of the pathogen.