Draft genome resources of two strains ("ESVL" and "IVIA5901") of xylella fastidiosa associated with almond leaf scorch disease in alicante, Spain

An outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex sequence type ST6 was discovered in 2017 in mainland Spain affecting almond trees. Two cultured almond strains, "ESVL" and "IVIA5901," were subjected to high throughput sequencing and the draft genomes assembled. Phylogenetic analysis conclusively indicated they belong to the subspecies multiplex, and pairwise comparisons of the chromosomal genomes showed an average nucleotide identity higher than 99%. Interestingly, the two strains differ for the presence of the plasmids pXF64-Hb_ESVL and pUCLA-ESVL detected only in the ESVL strain. The availability of these draft genomes contribute to extend the European genomic sequence dataset, a first step toward setting new research to elucidate the pathway of introduction and spread of the numerous strains of this subspecies so far detected in Europe.