Genome sequence and annotation of the fungus Periconia digitata

The Periconia genus belongs to the phylum Ascomycota, order Pleosporales, family Periconiaceae. Periconia is widespread in many habitats but little is known about its ecology. Several species produce bioactive molecules, among them, Periconia digitata extracts were shown to be deadly active against the pine wilt nematode. The strain CNCM I-4278, here identified as P. digitata was able to inhibit the plant pathogen Phytophthora parasitica. Since P. digitata has great potential as biocontrol agent and the only other genome available in the Periconiaceae family is that of Periconia macrospinosa, which is quite fragmentary, we generated long-read genomic data for P. digitata. Thanks to the PacBio Hifi sequencing technology, we obtained a high-quality genome with a total length of 38,967,494 bp, represented by 13 haploid chromosomes. The transcriptomic and proteomic data strengthen and support the genome annotation. Besides representing a new reference genome within the Periconiaceae, this work will also contribute in our understanding of the Eukaryotic tree of life. Not least, opens new possibilities to the biotechnological use of the species.