Genome-wide validation of Magnaporthe grisea gene structures based on transcription evidence

Accurate cDNA data is useful to validate gene structures in a genome. We sequenced 35 189 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) obtained from the highly destructive rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Our custom-made computational programs mapped these ESTs on the M. grisea genome sequence, and reconstructed gene structures as well as protein-coding regions. As a result, we predicted 4480 protein-coding sequences, which were more accurate than ab initio predictions. Moreover, cross-species comparisons suggested that our predicted proteins were nearly complete. The cDNA clones obtained in this study will be important for further experimental studies. Our genome annotation is available at http://www.mg.dna.affrc.go.jp/.