Improved Genome Assembly and Annotation of Onygena corvina, a Keratin-Degrading Fungus
Onygena corvina is a non-pathogenic, saprophytic fungus that colonizes feathers, hooves, and hair, and represents a valuable source of keratin-degrading enzymes. Previous studies have sequenced and assembled the genome of O. corvina using Illumina short-read sequencing, yielding a reference genome assembly that consists of 521 contigs and a contig N50 length of 0.229 Mb. Here, we report an improved O. corvina genome assembly that was generated through a high-quality hybrid approach that combines Illumina short-read and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing. The new assembly consists of 15 contigs totaling 21.8 Mb, with an N50 of 4.4 Mb, and has a completeness of 98.97%. A total of 7,233 protein-coding genes were identified using an integrative approach that combines de novo predictions, homology-based inferences, and RNA-sequencing–guided evidence. Notably, 158 putative protease-encoding genes were identified representing a substantial increase from the 73 predicted in the previous annotation. In conclusion, our improved genome assembly and associated gene annotations will facilitate comparative genomics, transcriptomic and proteomic mapping, to advance research on physiological function analysis as well as substrate-fungal interactions.