Genomic sequence resource of Alternaria alternata strain B3 causing leaf blight on Ophiopogon japonicus

The black spot of Ophiopogon japonicus is an economically important disease, which can result in significant losses of both yield and quality of this traditional Chinese medicinal plant. The disease is caused by the small-spored fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata, a necrotrophic fungus that ubiquitously distributed in the environment. Here, we present the draft whole-genome sequence of the A. alternata strain B3 that caused black spot on O. japonicus. The assembly consists of 76 contigs with an estimated genome size of 33.9Mb. Furthermore, we identified genes that may be associated with the pathogenicity, such as carbohydrate-active enzymes, secreted proteins, and secondary metabolites gene clusters. This genome resource will provide a useful source for future research on evolution of pathogenicity of A. alternata and phylogenomic analysis in delineating phylogenetic lineages within Alternaria.

Keywords: Alternaria alternata; Black spot; Genomics; Ophiopogon japonicus; pathogenicity.