Population genomics of Xylaria necrophora, an emerging pathogen of soybean in the southern United States of America

The pathogen associated with taproot decline of soybean, Xylaria necrophora, was the subject of the current study. Diseased soybean collected in the region were processed to obtain pure cultures of the pathogen, along with historical specimens found in US herbaria and collected in a saprophytic lifestyle, from the 1920's to the 2010's, within and outside the known distribution of the pathogen. DNA sequences were obtained using paired-end Illumina sequencing and mapped to a reference genome (MSU_SB201401; project NPFG01) to obtain a SNP matrix. Our results highlight the genetic diversity and recombination strategies of this pathogen in the region.