Genomic insights into <i>Ceratobasidium</i> sp. associated with vascular streak dieback of woody ornamentals in the United States using a metagenomic sequencing approach

Identification of the pathogen that causes an emerging disease, be it of humans, animals, or plants, is a prerequisite to develop effective treatment and/or management practices and to try to control the disease outbreak to prevent further pathogen spread. Vascular streak dieback (VSD) is an emerging disease of ornamental bushes and trees in the United States. Identification of the pathogen has been hindered by the difficulty in growing the fungal pathogen found to be associated with diseased plants in pure culture. Here, we succeeded in sequencing the DNA of the likely pathogen directly from plant tissue or from the fungal mass growing out of collected plant tissue. The sequences were assembled into genomes, which allowed us to precisely identify the pathogen, compare it to related pathogens of other plants, and predict how it causes disease. These results can now be used to inform management and control of VSD.