Genome Sequence Resource of Four Botrytis cinerea Isolates from North Carolina

Botrytis cinerea is a fungal pathogen that affects over 1,400 plant species and causes significant damage to crops. It is also responsible for causing gray mold in small fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries. In this study, four isolates of B. cinerea were collected (two from blueberry andblueberry and two from strawberry) in North Carolina. Their genomes were sequenced using Illumina paired-end sequencing. The core genome of the isolates was analyzed for their carbohydrate-active enzymes, secretomes, effectors, and secondary metabolite repertoires. The genome assembly of the four isolates ranged from 41.9 Mb for NC5 to 44.9 Mb for KC33. Based on BUSCO analysis, all the genomes had high levels of completeness, ranging from 98.2% to 99.1%. The annotation revealed the presence of 500 to 565 carbohydrate-active enzymes, 649 to 688 secreted proteins, and 162 to 181 potential fungal effectors. This study not only provides valuable genomic resources for B. cinerea, but also significantly contributes to the existing resources available for understanding host-pathogen interactions and the factors that affect disease development in the host.