Cacti are used for food, have been linked to healthier diets and disease prevention, and even serve as a stopgap crop for livestock forage in times of drought. They are also important ornamental plants. In this project, our team will sequence the whole genome of cacti to reveal genomic insight into the drought-tolerant plant. It will be the first plant genome sequenced in Cactaceae. Our team will collaborate with the Beijing Genome Institute to sequence the cactus genome using Illumina HiSeq technology.