Genome datasets for Calonectria henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata causing boxwood blight disease and related fungal species

Boxwood blight disease, caused by the fungi Calonectria henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata, is an emergent threat to natural and managed landscapes worldwide. Boxwood blight emerged for the first time in the U.K. during the 1990s, then spread rapidly throughout Europe. By 2011, the fungus that causes the disease, Calonectria pseudonaviculata, was found in the U.S., threatening an industry valued at $103 million annually and countless mature landscapes, some dating back to early Colonial times. Since the first U.S. outbreaks, boxwood blight has been identified from a total of 19 states that together comprise 62% of the total U.S. boxwood production. A second pathogen, C. henricotiae, was recently described from five European countries. Infection can be latent, and the pathogen may sequester in less susceptible boxwood cultivars. Because there are no curative treatments—fungicides are at best suppressive of symptoms—infected plants are rendered unfit for sale. If infected plants are not destroyed, they provide a long-lived source of inoculum that spreads the pathogen by spores or resistant survival structures in soil, air, or water. Our goal is to provide knowledge and tools needed to reduce the impact of boxwood blight on the green industry. This database includes genome datasets from Calonectria pathogens of boxwood and related species.