Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of an important Southeast Asian medicinal plant, Eurycoma longifolia (Simaroubaceae)

Abstract

Eurycoma longifolia is a small tree known for its use in Southeast Asian traditional medicine. The growing demand for its roots as raw material for medicinal extracts is slowly threatening the natural populations of this species. In this study, we assembled and characterized the complete chloroplast genome of E. longifolia as a resource for future genetic studies on this species. With a total length of 160,800 bp, comprising of a large single-copy (LSC) region of 88,162 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 15,607 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 27,369 bp each, 133 genes were predicted for the chloroplast genome. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the position of E. longifolia within the family Simaroubaceae.