Cupressus sempervirens

Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) is characterised by a very variable crown architecture, from columnar fastigiated to spread naturally occurring near the eastern Mediterranean Basin and in the Middle East. The columnar form has been used since ancient Greek and Roman times as an ornamental tree for shading gardens, cemeteries, and as a windbreak along roads. It has become a characteristic feature of the Mediterranean coastal and urban landscape since these ancient civilisations. More recently It has been introduced all over the world as an ornamental tree and used in reforestation programs in areas with dry and poor soils. Its wood is also appreciated for its durability and scent. In this project we sequence, assemble and annotate the 10Gb genome of an haploid line (accession cs 2001 9 10) obtained using the ability of Cupressus dupreziana A. Camus, one of the two other cypress species native to the Mediterranean basin, to act as a surrogate mother for the production of embryos of solely paternal origin. The sequenced haploid genotype was therefore produced by the embrogenic development of a C. sempervirens haploid pollen and selected from hundreds of haploid lines, most of them exhibiting severe genetic defects. Finally, due to their haploid status, such lines are not able to achieve regular meiosis and are candidates for the selection of low or non-pollinating cypress varieties for the prevention of the widespread allergy to Cupressaceae pollen.