The pangenome analysis of the soil-borne fungal phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani and development of a comprehensive web resource: RsolaniDB. RsolaniDB

Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is a soilborne basidiomycetous fungus that causes significant damage to many economically important crops. R. solani isolates are classified into 12 Anastomosis Groups (AGs) with interspecific subgroups having distinctive morphology, pathogenicity and wide host range. However, the genetic factors that drive the unique fungal pathology are still not well characterized due to the limited number of available annotated genomes. Therefore, we performed genome sequencing, assembly, annotation and functional analysis of 13 R. solani isolates covering 7 AGs and selected subgroups (AG1-IA, AG1-IB, AG1-IC, AG2-2IIIB, AG3-PT, AG3-TB, AG4-HG-I, AG5, AG6, and AG8). Here, we report a pangenome comparative analysis of 12 R. solani isolates covering important groups to elucidate unique and common attributes associated with each isolate, including molecular factors potentially involved in determining AG-specific host preference. Finally, we present the largest repertoire of annotated R. solani genomes, compiled as a comprehensive and user-friendly database, viz. RsolaniDB. Since 7 genomes are reported for the first time, the database stands as a valuable platform for formulating new hypotheses by hosting annotated genomes, with tools for functional enrichment, orthologs and sequence analysis, currently not available with other accessible state-of-the-art platforms hosting Rhizoctonia genome sequences.

立枯丝核菌（Rhizoctonia solani Kühn）是一种土传担子菌，可对多种经济重要作物造成严重危害。该物种的菌株被划分为12个融合群（Anastomosis Groups, AGs），其种间亚组具有独特的形态学特征、致病性与广泛的寄主范围。然而，由于已注释的基因组数量有限，驱动该真菌独特致病病理的遗传因子仍未得到充分表征。为此，本研究对覆盖7个融合群及选定亚组的13株立枯丝核菌菌株开展了基因组测序、组装、注释与功能分析，所涉亚组包括AG1-IA、AG1-IB、AG1-IC、AG2-2IIIB、AG3-PT、AG3-TB、AG4-HG-I、AG5、AG6及AG8。
本研究报道了覆盖核心类群的12株立枯丝核菌菌株的泛基因组比较分析，以阐明各菌株的独有与共有特征，包括潜在参与决定融合群特异性寄主偏好的分子因子。最后，本研究构建了目前规模最大的立枯丝核菌注释基因组库，并整合为一个全面易用的数据库，即RsolaniDB。其中7个基因组为首次发布，该数据库可通过收录注释基因组、提供功能富集分析、同源基因（orthologs）检索及序列分析工具，为新假说的构建提供宝贵的研究平台——而现有其他可访问的顶尖立枯丝核菌基因组序列数据库均未配备此类工具。