Genome sequencing, annotation, and gene expression of a maize-specific Exserohilum turcicum strain to study host-specificity

Exserohilum turcicum is a fungal pathogen that causes northern corn leaf blight and sorghum leaf blight. However, strains are host-specific, meaning a strain typically only causes disease on either maize or sorghum. This pathosystem provides a unique opportunity to identify the mechanisms underlying host specificity through genomic and transcriptomic studies. To characterize host specificity, we (i) constructed de novo annotated assemblies of one sorghum- (15St008) and one maize-specific (Et52B) E. turcicum strain, ii) identified and characterized structural changes between the two genomes, and (iii) compared differential gene expression. This BioProject is for the maize-specific strain (Et52B) and contains the genome sequences with assembly, genome annotation, and gene expression data.