Molecular Structure and Phylogenetic Analyses of Complete Chloroplast Genomes of Two Aristolochia Medicinal Species

Abstract

The family Aristolochiaceae, comprising about 600 species of eight genera, is a unique plant family containing aristolochic acids (AAs). The complete chloroplast genome sequences of <i>Aristolochia debilis</i> and <i>Aristolochia contorta</i> are reported here. The results show that the complete chloroplast genomes of <i>A. debilis</i> and <i>A. contorta</i> comprise circular 159,793 and 160,576 bp-long molecules, respectively and have typical quadripartite structures. The GC contents of both species were 38.3% each. A total of 131 genes were identified in each genome including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes and one pseudogene (<i>ycf1</i>). The simple-sequence repeat sequences mainly comprise A/T mononucletide repeats. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum parsimony (MP) revealed that <i>A. debilis</i> and <i>A. contorta</i> had a close phylogenetic relationship with species of the family Piperaceae, as well as Laurales and Magnoliales. The data obtained in this study will be beneficial for further investigations on <i>A. debilis</i> and <i>A. contorta</i> from the aspect of evolution, and chloroplast genetic engineering.