A complete chloroplast genome of Keteleeria davidiana (Pinaceae) and its phylogenetic implications

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2021 Jun 21;6(7):2074-2075. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2021.1907253.

Abstract

Keteleeria davidiana (Bertrand) Beissner 1891 (Pinaceae) is a rare tertiary relict plant endemic to China. However, since the main morphological characteristics used for identifying K. davidiana are variable, some taxonomic treatments within the species are still controversial. Here a complete chloroplast genome of K. davidiana representing a special genotype was assembled, which could provide more information for the taxonomic study of this species. The assembled genome was 117,642 bp in length with a large single-copy (LSC) region (74,825 bp), a small single-copy (SSC) region (40,247 bp), and two incomplete inverted repeats (IRs) regions (1285 bp each). In total, 118 genes were predicted, including 4 rRNAs, 34 tRNAs, and 80 protein-coding genes. The overall GC content of the assembled genome was 38.5%. Phylogenetic analysis showed that different accessions of K. davidiana formed a clade with relatively low support (bootstrap value = 71), which indicated a high level of sequences variation within the species.

Keywords: Keteleeria davidiana; chloroplast genome; taxonomic study.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant [number 2019M651839]; and Innovation Fund for Young Scholars of Nanjing Forestry University under Grant [number. CX2019029].