Advancing to Chromosome-Scale Genome Assembly of a Cunninghamella blakesleeana Strain: A Potential Biocontrol Agent of Cupuaçu Tree Witches’ Broom Disease

Here, we present the first complete chromosome-scale genome assembly of a Brazilian Cunninghamella blakesleeana strain UFAC-CB2.1. We combined Nanopore long reads with high-quality Illumina paired-end reads to produce a final assembly comprising eight chromosomes (seven nuclear and one mitochondrial), totaling 33,158,829 bp. Ab initio gene prediction identified 10,659 protein-coding genes. We also predicted the secretome and effectorome, detecting at least 609 secreted proteins and 432 candidate secreted effector proteins. This telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of a poorly investigated fungus will shed light on the genetics of the species and genus, opening opportunities for further research in agricultural, biotechnological, and medical applications.