Genome Sequencing of Coccidioides posadasii Strain NR-166 for Benchmarking a Species-Aware Variant Identification Pipeline (cocci-call)

This project involves the whole-genome sequencing of the Coccidioides posadasii strain NR-166 to support the development and benchmarking of cocci-call, a species-aware variant identification pipeline tailored for Coccidioides spp., the causative agents of Valley Fever. The sequenced strain NR-166 serves as a reference for evaluating the performance of cocci-call in accurately assigning species and identifying genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms. The pipeline addresses the need for standardized genomic tools to improve comparability across studies and facilitate genomic epidemiology, pathogen tracking, and phylogenetic analyses of Coccidioides spp.