The complete chloroplast genome of Juniperus tibetica (Cupressaceae), the conifer that occupies the highest known treeline in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

Juniperus tibetica forms the highest known treeline in the Northern Hemisphere at 4900 m a.s.l., and it is categorized as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Here, Illumina pair-end reads of Juniperus tibetica was used to characterize its complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequences. The circular genome with 127,662 bp in length contains two duplicated genes (trnI-CAU and trnQ-UUG), and 119 single copy genes that including 82 protein-coding genes, 33 transfer RNA and four ribosomal RNA genes. There are no inverted repeat sequences in this genome. The GC content of this genome is 35.04%. The phylogenomic analysis strongly supported the monophyly of both Juniperus sect. Juniperus and J. sect. Sabina; within J. sect. Sabina, J. tibetica is sister to all other involved species.

Keywords

• juniperus tibetica
• chloroplast genome
• conifer
• cupressaceae
• phylogenetics analysis