Draft genome resource of a novel virulent Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 1 (VCG 0124) strain infecting Cavendish (AAA) group of bananas in India

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is one of the most destructive soil-borne fungi causing Fusarium wilt disease in banana. Generally, Foc race 1 (Foc R1) severely affects most of the banana varieties, except Cavendish bananas (AAA). Here we present the draft genome of an isolate of VCG 0124, a novel virulent Foc R1 strain that severely affects the Cavendish group of bananas isolated from Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India. The genome assembly of Foc R1 comprises 61,471,473 bp with 88 contigs and 18,377 protein-coding regions. The genome contains homologs of Foc race specific secreted in xylem (SIX) genes, SIX1, SIX5, SIX9 and SIX13. The absence of SIX4 and SIX6 and deletion of a peptide in SIX1 virulence factor genes in the Foc R1 (VCG0124) strain might be the contributing factor for strain infecting Cavendish bananas in India.