Microorganisms Raw sequence reads

Cassava Witches' Broom Disease (CWBD) is a devastating disease of cassava in Southeast Asia. Affected cassava plants show reduced internodal length and proliferation of leaves (phyllody), in the middle and top parts of the plant, weakening stems (i.e. planting material for next season). Using a metagenomic approach validated by targeted PCR, we characterized the microbiome associated with the disease, uncovering a fungus belonging to the Ceratobasidium genus only present in affected plants. The CWB-associated fungus shares 98.3-99.7% nucleotide identity with C. theobromae at the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS).