Genome sequencing and assembly of Serpula lacrymans var. lacrymans and Serpula lacrymans var. shastensis

This is a comparative genomics project to elucidate the genetic basis of invasiveness in the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans. This species is an aggressive wood decomposer associated with the human built environment. We have sequenced a house-inhabiting European strain of Serpula lacrymans var. lacrymans (SL200 from Warsaw, Poland) as well as a wild strain of Serpula lacrymans var. shastensis (SHA17-1 from Mount Shasta, California, USA). We used comparative analyses of gene content as well as a screen for changes in selective regime to identify genes of potential importance in the transition from the wild to restriction to houses in Europe.