High-Quality Genome Assemblies of Two Prototheca wickerhamii Strains

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Genomics
• Medical Mycology

Background:

• Prototheca wickerhamii is a non-photosynthetic microalgal species.
• This species is known to cause opportunistic human infections.
• Understanding its genomic characteristics is vital for medical and symbiosis research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate high-quality genome assemblies for two strains of Prototheca wickerhamii (Pw26 and PwS1).
• To provide a genomic resource for comparative genomics and functional studies of P. wickerhamii.

Main Methods:

• Genome sequencing using PacBio HiFi reads.
• Assembly and evaluation of genome completeness and accuracy using BUSCO analysis.
• Comparative genomic analysis of genome size, gene content, and repeat sequences.

Main Results:

• High-quality genome assemblies for Pw26 (17.8 MB) and PwS1 (17.4 MB) were generated.
• Both genomes exhibited a GC content of 63.5% and high contig N50 values (1.6 MB).
• Comparative analysis revealed high similarity in genome size and alignment, with Pw26 having slightly more protein-coding genes.

Conclusions:

• The generated genome assemblies are valuable resources for Prototheca wickerhamii research.
• Detailed genomic characterization facilitates further studies into pathogenic mechanisms.
• These findings support comparative genomics and functional exploration of this microalgal species.