Short-read sequencing (Illumina) of Stemphylium beticola

One of the causal agents of Stemphylium leaf spot of spinach, Stemphylium beticola, affects spinach in seed, fresh market, and processing production. The species was only described in the mid-2010s after being identified as the causal agent of yellow leaf spot of sugar beet. Assembled genomes of the other causal agent of Stemphylium leaf spot, S. vesicarium, exist from isolates from onion and pear, but no assembled genomes of S. beticola are publicly available. Thus, the purpose of this study was to generate assembled genomes of S. beticola. This research will enable studies to genetically differentiate the two causal agents of Stemphylium leaf spot of spinach and aid in comparative genomic studies of pathogenic Stemphylium species from other plant hosts, such as S. lycopersici from tomato and S. vesicarium from onion and pear.