The complete chloroplast genome of<i>Cinnamomum camphora</i>and its comparison with related<i>Lauraceae</i>species

Abstract

<i>Cinnamomum camphora</i>, a member of the <i>Lauraceae</i> family, is a valuable aromatic and timber tree that is indigenous to the south of China and Japan. All parts of <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> have secretory cells containing different volatile chemical compounds that are utilized as herbal medicines and essential oils. Here, we reported the complete sequencing of the chloroplast genome of <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> using illumina technology. The chloroplast genome of <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> is 152,570 bp in length and characterized by a relatively conserved quadripartite structure containing a large single copy region of 93,705 bp, a small single copy region of 19,093 bp and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 19,886 bp. Overall, the genome contained 123 coding regions, of which 15 were repeated in the IR regions. An analysis of chloroplast sequence divergence revealed that the small single copy region was highly variable among the different genera in the <i>Lauraceae</i> family. A total of 40 repeat structures and 83 simple sequence repeats were detected in both the coding and non-coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that <i>Calycanthus</i> is most closely related to <i>Lauraceae</i>, both being members of <i>Laurales</i>, which forms a sister group to <i>Magnoliids</i>. The complete sequence of the chloroplast of <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> will aid in in-depth taxonomical studies of the <i>Lauraceae</i> family in the future. The genetic sequence information will also have valuable applications for chloroplast genetic engineering.