An improved draft genome assembly of Meloidogyne graminicola IARI strain using long-read sequencing

The rice root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola is a major biotic stress for the rice crop under upland, rain-fed lowland and irrigated cultivation conditions. Here, we present an improved draft genome assembly of M. graminicola IARI strain using the long-read sequencing approach (PacBio Sequel platform). The assembled genome size was 36.86 Mb with 514 contigs and N50 value of 105 kb. BUSCO estimated the genome to be 88.6% complete. Meloidogyne graminicola genome contained 17.83% repeat elements and showed 14,062 protein-coding gene models, 4,974 conserved orthologous genes, 561 putative secreted proteins, 49 RNAi pathway genes, 1,853 proteins involved in pathogen-host interactions, 1,575 carbohydrate-active enzymes, and 32,138 microsatellites. Five of the carbohydrate-active enzymes were found only in M. graminicola genome and were not present in any other analysed root-knot nematode genome. Together with the previous two genome assemblies, this improved genome assembly would facilitate comparative and functional genomics for M. graminicola.