Theobroma grandiflorum Genome sequencing and assembly

Theobroma grandiflorum, (cupuassu) is a member of the Malvaceae family, and one of the most popular species in the Brazilian Amazon. The cupuassu fruit pulp is much appreciated for the preparation of juices, jams, liqueurs, jellies, ice cream, and others. The seeds are used in the manufacture of chocolate powder and tablets (cupulate) and the cosmetics industry. Little is known about its cupuassu genome, only that it has 2n = 20 and an estimated genome size of 448-Mb. Therefore, the aim of this project is to generate the genome sequencing of Theobroma grandiflorum (resistant C174 and C1074 susceptible to witches broom) genotypes, and employing comparative analysis study cupuassu genome structure and evolution.

大花可可树（Theobroma grandiflorum，俗称cupuassu）隶属于锦葵科（Malvaceae），是巴西亚马逊地区最广为人知的物种之一。其果肉因可用于制作果汁、果酱、利口酒、果冻、冰淇淋等多款食品而广受赞誉。该树种的种子可用于生产巧克力粉与巧克力块（cupulate），并应用于化妆品工业。目前学界对该物种的基因组了解甚少，仅知晓其染色体数目为2n=20，预估基因组大小为448 Mb。因此本项目的研究目标为对两个大花可可树基因型——抗可可丛枝病（witches broom）的C174以及易感该病害的C1074——进行基因组测序，并通过比较分析探究其基因组结构与演化机制。