Tilletia caries strain:517 Genome sequencing and assembly

Tilletia species (Ustilaginomycotina, Basidiomycota), the bunt fungi, are pathogens of grasses (Poaceae) such as wheat (Triticum aestivum) and ryegrass (Lolium spp.) and represent a molecularly underexplored branch of the fungal tree of life. Most Tilletia species must mate prior to infecting their hosts, highlighting the importance of sex in their life cycles. Mating loci identified in related smut fungi consist of a pheromone precursor, G-protein-coupled pheromone receptor and two divergently transcribed homeodomain transcription factors. The primary objective of this study was to annotate mating and RNA-silencing genes in available genomes of the systemically infecting bunts T. caries and T. contraversa, and non-systemically infecting bunts T. indica and T. walkeri.