De novo Reference Genome Resource for the Soybean Pathogen Septoria glycines

Septoria glycines Hemmi, the causal agent of Septoria brown spot of soybean, is the most common foliar pathogen of soybean in the United States. The lack of genomic resources, such as a reference genome, has hindered efforts to investigate its population genetics, virulence mechanisms, and fungicide resistance. Therefore, we present a reference-quality genome sequence of S. glycines isolate SG026, developed using both PacBio and Illumina sequencing platforms. The final assembly consists of 14 telomere-to-telomere contigs, two single-telomere contigs, and a contig representing the mitochondrial genome, totaling 31.7 Mb with an N50 of 2.83 Mb. Annotation of the SG026 genome assembly identified 10,973 predicted gene models, and BUSCO analysis indicated 98.6% completeness. Of these, 1023 encoded for proteins with signal peptides, and 367 of these were predicted as effectors. Additionally, 45 biosynthetic gene clusters were detected across 11 out of 15 chromosomes. This reference-quality genome assembly provides the foundation for comparative genomics, effector discovery, and surveillance of fungicide resistance in S. glycines.