The complete chloroplast genome of Gerbera piloselloides (L.) Cass., 1820 (Carduoideae, Asteraceae) and its phylogenetic analysis.

Abstract

Gerbera piloselloides (L.) Cass., 1820 of the genus Gerbera is of importance in Chinese ethnic medicine. In this research, the whole genome DNA of G. piloselloides was extracted and sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq platform, its chloroplast genome was assembled and annotated, and its sequence characteristics were analyzed using bioinformatic methods. The results showed that its chloroplast genome has a length of 151,871 bp and contains 133 annotated genes, consisting of 88 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. In total, 202 simple sequence repeat sites and 43 long repeats were detected in G. piloselloides, mainly consisting of mono-nucleotide and tri-nucleotide repeats, with A/T as the major base composition. The chloroplast genome of G. piloselloides contains 22,772 codons, with leucine-coding codons being the most abundant. Comparative genomics showed that the genome structure, composition and variation were basically the same in the Asteraceae family. The phylogenetic tree analysis indicated a close relationship between the genus Atractylodes and Gerbera, consistent with the morphological classification. The research of the G. piloselloides chloroplast genome will lay a foundation for species discrimination, genetic evolution analysis, and DNA barcode construction in Gerbera plants.