Complete chloroplast genome characteristics of the endangered relic plant Helianthemum songaricum (Cistaceae) in the arid region of northwestern China

Abstract

Helianthemum songaricum is an ecologically important endangered relic plant species growing in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwestern China. It is also a valuable germplasm resource. Consequently, we herein report the complete H. songaricum chloroplast genome, which comprises 152,042 bp, including a large single copy (LSC) region (84,389 bp) and a small single copy (SSC) region (18,926 bp) that are separated by a pair of 24,298-bp inverted repeats (IRs). The LSC, SSC, and IR regions account for 55.50%, 12.45%, and 31.96% of the chloroplast genome, respectively. Moreover, the GC content of this genome is 36.6%. Furthermore, the 110 annotated genes consist of 75 protein-coding genes, 4 rRNAs, and 31 tRNAs. A phylogenetic tree based on 14 chloroplast genomes revealed that H. songaricum is closely related to Clematoclethra scandens and Actinidia arguta.