The plastid genome characters and phylogenetic status of the endemic species Trichosanthes sunhangii D. G. Zhang, Z. M. Li, Qun Liu & T. Deng 2021 (Cucurbitaceae) in the Shennongjia forestry district of China

Abstract

Trichosanthes sunhangii (Cucurbitaceae) is an endemic species native to the Shennongjia forestry district of China, whose plastid genome was reported in this study. The whole genome exhibits the typical quadripartite structure with 156,906 bp in size. A total of 130 genes were identified, containing 85 protein-coding genes (CDS), 37 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on 83 shared CDS sequences reaffirmed the status of T. sunhangii within the Sect. Foliobracteola, revealing close relationships with morphologically similar species, T. kirilowii and T. rosthornii. Our findings will provide a significant foundation for future investigations into the evolution, conservation, and potential utilization of this species.

Keywords

• Trichosanthes sunhangii
• endemic species
• plastid genome
• phylogenetic reconstruction