RNA sequencing of Cercospora zeina grown in vitro to annotate gene models. Cercospora zeina

Gray leaf spot (GLS) disease of maize can be caused by either of two sibling fungal species Cercospora zeina or Cercospora zeae-maydis. These species differ in geographical distribution, for example to date only C. zeina is associated with GLS in Africa. C. zeae-maydis isolates produce the phytotoxin cercosporin in vitro, whereas C. zeina does not. C.zeina was grown in different in vitro conditions to determine if the cercosporin biosynthesis genes were expressed. Furthermore, the choice of a range of different in vitro conditions was aimed at capturing transcript sequences from a broad range of genes to aid in identification of gene models for annotation of the C.zeina genome sequence. Overall design: Seven separate culture RNA samples were submitted without biological replicates