Abstract
Aster spathulifolius, a common ornamental and medicinal plant, is widely distributed in Korea and Japan, and is genetically classified into mainland and island types. Here, we sequenced the whole chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius and compared it with those of the island type and other Aster species. The chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius is 152,732 bp with a conserved quadripartite structure, has 37.28% guanine-cytosine (GC) content, and contains 114 non-redundant genes. Comparison of the chloroplast genomes between the two A. spathulifolius lines and the other Aster species revealed that their sequences, GC contents, gene contents and orders, and exon-intron structure were well conserved; however, differences were observed in their lengths, repeat sequences, and the contraction and expansion of the inverted repeats. The variations were mostly in the single-copy regions and non-coding regions, which, together with the detected simple sequence repeats, could be used for the development of molecular markers to distinguish between these plants. All Aster species clustered into a monophyletic group, but the chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius was more similar to the other Aster species than to that of the island A. spathulifolius. The accD and ndhF genes were detected to be under positive selection within the Aster lineage compared to other related taxa. The complete chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius presented in this study will be helpful for species identification and the analysis of the genetic diversity, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships in the Aster genus and the Asteraceae.
Highlights
Aster spathulifolius (Asteraceae) is an economically important perennial herb
The obtained cp genome of mainland A. spathulifolius was within the size range (149 to 153 kb) and GC content (37.12 to 37.82%) of the other available cp genomes of the Asteraceae species [12]
Rpl2 and trnH-GUG were commonly located at the IRa/large single copy (LSC) boundary, with variable gap lengths observed in the six Aster cp genomes
Summary
Aster spathulifolius (Asteraceae) is an economically important perennial herb. It is traditionally used for ornamental purposes, but the aerial part of the plant is consumed as an edible vegetable or used as herbal medicine to treat several diseases, including asthma, obesity, and diuresis [1,2]. The genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and geographic distributions of A. spathulifolius populations were previously evaluated using allozymes and inter-SSR (ISSR) markers [4,5]. We sequenced the complete cp genome of mainland A. spathulifolius and compared it with those of the island A. spathulifolius and other available Aster species, to explore their molecular identities, genetic divergence, and phylogenetic relationships. This comprehensive and comparative analysis of the cp genomes provides valuable information for conducting a species delimitation, developing molecular markers, and reconstructing the events of Aster and A. spathulifolius evolution
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