Transcriptomic dataset of cultivated (Sesamum indicum), wild (S. mulayanum), and interspecific hybrid sesame in response to induced Macrophomina phaseolina infection

We report here the data of transcriptome sequencing of control and infected sesame genotypes. Sesame is an emerging oilseed crop [1]. The destructive soil-borne fungi Macrophomina phaseolina Tassi (Goid) causes charcoal rot of sesame, leading to high (>50%) yield loss. Most of the high-yielding sesame cultivars (Sesamum indicum) of India are susceptible to charcoal rot. Wild sesame, Sesamum mulayanum shows a high degree of tolerance against many pathogens [2]. We have earlier developed an interspecific hybrid between Indian cultivated sesame and S. mulayanum. The parents and the F6 recombinant constitute the three experimental genotypes in the present report. The seedlings were infected with M. phaseolina. The data of the infected and control (mock-inoculated) transcriptome is presented. The RNA-seq by Illumina NovaSeq 6000 technology generated 2.9 × 108 paired-end reads. We deposited the data in NCBI sequence read archive (SRA) with accession number PRJNA642699. The de novo assembly of clean reads generated 106,295 unigenes with an average length of 1,342 bp covering 1.42 × 108 nucleotides. The screening of 106,295 unigenes with MISA and SAMtools software resulted in the identification of 26,880 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 90,181 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and 25,063 insertion deletions (InDels). Apart from mono-base repeats, di-nucleotides repeats (42.51%) were found to be the most abundant, followed by tri-nucleotides (14.28%) among the SSRs. Subsequently, we have designed 22,494 pairs of primers based on perfect di and tri-nucleotide SSRs. Transitions (Ts, 60%) were the most abundant substitution type among the SNPs followed by transversions type (Tv, 40%), with a Ts/Tv ratio of 1.48. The development of genic-SSR markers and SNP information will pave the way for molecular marker-assisted breeding of sesame for tolerance against charcoal rot.