BMC Plant Biology (Jan 2022)

Assembly and comparative analysis of the first complete mitochondrial genome of Acer truncatum Bunge: a woody oil-tree species producing nervonic acid

  • Qiuyue Ma,
  • Yuxiao Wang,
  • Shushun Li,
  • Jing Wen,
  • Lu Zhu,
  • Kunyuan Yan,
  • Yiming Du,
  • Jie Ren,
  • Shuxian Li,
  • Zhu Chen,
  • Changwei Bi,
  • Qianzhong Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-021-03416-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

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Abstract Background Acer truncatum (purpleblow maple) is a woody tree species that produces seeds with high levels of valuable fatty acids (especially nervonic acid). The species is admired as a landscape plant with high developmental prospects and scientific research value. The A. truncatum chloroplast genome has recently been reported; however, the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is still unexplored. Results We characterized the A. truncatum mitogenome, which was assembled using reads from PacBio and Illumina sequencing platforms, performed a comparative analysis against different species of Acer. The circular mitogenome of A. truncatum has a length of 791,052 bp, with a base composition of 27.11% A, 27.21% T, 22.79% G, and 22.89% C. The A. truncatum mitogenome contains 62 genes, including 35 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. We also examined codon usage, sequence repeats, RNA editing and selective pressure in the A. truncatum mitogenome. To determine the evolutionary and taxonomic status of A. truncatum, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomes of A. truncatum and 25 other taxa. In addition, the gene migration from chloroplast and nuclear genomes to the mitogenome were analyzed. Finally, we developed a novel NAD1 intron indel marker for distinguishing several Acer species. Conclusions In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of A. truncatum, a woody oil-tree species producing nervonic acid. The results of our analyses provide comprehensive information on the A. truncatum mitogenome, which would facilitate evolutionary research and molecular barcoding in Acer.

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