| Summary: | <i>Saposhnikovia divaricata</i>, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb, is the sole species under the genus <i>Saposhnikovia</i> of the Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae Drude. However, information regarding its genetic diversity and evolution is still limited. In this study, the first complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of wild <i>S. divaricata</i> was generated using de novo sequencing technology. Similar to the characteristics of <i>Ledebouriella seseloides</i>, the 147,834 bp-long <i>S. divaricata</i> cpDNA contained a large single copy, a small single copy, and two inverted repeat regions. A total of 85 protein-coding, 8 ribosomal RNA, and 36 transfer RNA genes were identified. Compared with five other species, the non-coding regions in the <i>S. divaricata</i> cpDNA exhibited greater variation than the coding regions. Several repeat sequences were also discovered, namely, 33 forward, 14 reverse, 3 complement, and 49 microsatellite repeats. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using 47 cpDNA sequences of Apioideae members revealed that <i>L. seseloides</i> and <i>S. divaricata</i> clustered together with a 100% bootstrap value, thereby supporting the validity of renaming <i>L. seseloides</i> to <i>S. divaricata</i> at the genomic level. Notably, <i>S. divaricata</i> was most closely related to <i>Libanotis buchtormensis</i>, which contradicts previous reports. Therefore, these findings provide a valuable foundation for future studies on the genetic diversity and evolution of <i>S. divaricata</i>.
|
|---|