Sequencing the genome of the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis

This proposal aims at obtaining an annotated genome sequence of the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f sp hordei. This fungus is an obligate biotrophic pathogen that causes one the agronomically most important diseases of barley and is a 'model' organism for the study of powdery mildew diseases in other crops. We will sequence the genome with a 7-fold coverage. The sequence will be assembled automatically. An EST library of cDNAs isolated from haustoria will also be sequenced and annotated; this will complement the existing collections and complete the coverage of all the important stages in the pathogen's life cycle. The ESTs are instrumental in training the gene finding processes that drive the annotation. The annotation of the genomic sequence will be carried out using a series of pipelines already used for other genome projects (Botrytis and tomato). The results from the semi-automated annotation will then be verified by manual curation and reviewed by specialist researchers in the sequencing consortium. The results will be placed on publicly accessible web-sites and a meeting will be convened with the world wide user community to bring train potential users, present major outcomes of the sequencing and the first annotations and discuss the results.