Genome Sequence of Aureobasidium pullulans AY4, an Emerging Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen with Diverse Biotechnological Potential

Aureobasidium pullulans AY4 is an opportunistic pathogen that was isolated from the skin of an immunocompromised patient. We present here the draft genome of strain AY4, which reveals an abundance of genes relevant to bioindustrial applications, in-cluding biocontrol and biodegradation. Putative genes responsible for the pathogenicity of strain AY4 were also identified. The fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) G. Arnoud,known as the “black yeast, ” was first described as a new fungal species under the name Dermatium pullulans by de Bary in 1866. However, in 1910, a new taxonomic combination un-der A. pullulans was proposed (7). A. pullulans has been regarded as having various biotechnology and environment-related applications, such as production of extracellular poly-meric substances, especially pullulan, production of hydrolytic enzymes, including amylases, proteases, esterases, pectinases, xylanases, and mannanases (3, 8), and as a biocontrol agent for plants (9). Various forms of this polymorphic fungus have been ubiquitously isolated from natural environments (11). How-ever, the fungus has been increasingly associated with human cutaneous and invasive infections (1). Locally, a pathogenic strain of A. pullulans, designated AY4, was coisolated with Can-dida orthopsilosis from an immunocompromised patient suf-fering from primary aldosteronism with persistent cutaneous infection (2). The draft genome of strain AY4 was determined and annotated to gain further insight into its biotechnological properties and pathogenicity. The draft genome sequence of strain AY4 was determined using the Genome Analyzer IIx system (Illumina). The 100-bp paired-end reads were assembled de novo using the CL