Genome assembly and in-depth genomic characterization of diverse Ascochyta rabiei isolates

Ascochyta blight (AB) caused by the fungus Ascochyta rabiei is a major foliar disease affecting chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) farmers in Australia and worldwide. Australian A. rabiei population has low genotypic diversity evinced by the presence of only one mating type. However, isolates have become more diverse in aggressiveness, affecting even the newly released resistant chickpea varieties.To better understand the mechanisms adopted by A. rabiei to evolve increased pathogenicity, and to identify genomic factors that potentially support aggressiveness and pathogenicity heterogeneity, we assembled near-complete genomes using high resolution long-read whole-genome sequencing with short-read polishing and performed an in-depth comparative analysis of Australian isolates exhibiting diverse aggressiveness.