Whole genome sequences of the watermelon gummy stem blight pathogen Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum

Gummy stem blight (GSB), caused by Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum (syn. Didymella bryoniae), is a destructive disease of cucurbit crops including watermelon in areas with hot and humid climates. Previously S. cucurbitacearum was reported to be the dominant fungal cause of watermelon GSB in Southern China, where it has greatly reduced crop yields. Here, we present the draft whole genome sequence, gene prediction, and annotation of S. cucurbitacearum strain DBTL4, isolated from diseased watermelon plants. To our knowledge, this is the first publicly available genome sequenced of this species and knowledge of this genome sequence will help further understand the pathogenic mechanism of S. cucurbitacearum to cucurbit plants.