The plastid genome of Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Cucurbitaceae), an endangered traditional Tibetan medicinal herbs

Abstract

Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Ser.) C. B. Clarke is an important traditional Tibetan medicinal plants in the genus of Herpetospermum, Cucurbitaceae. To better determine its phylogenetic location with respect to the other Cucurbitaceae species, the complete plastome of H. pedunculosum will be reported, which is the first species with plastid genome sequence in the genus of Herpetospermum. Its whole genome is 156,531 bp in length, consisting of a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,147 bp, one large single-copy (LSC) region of 85,878 bp, and one small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,359 bp. There are 128 genes, including 83 protein-coding genes, 36 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes in the plastome. Phylogenetic analysis based on 13 complete plastomes of Cucurbitaceae species showed sisterhood of H. pedunculosum and a clade containing Trichosanthes kirilowii and Hodgsonia macrocarpa, suggesting the close relationship between tribe Schizopeponeae and tribe Sicyoeae in the family Cucurbitaceae.