Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of the perennial herb Aconitum carmichaelii (Ranunculales: Ranunculaceae)

Aconitum carmichaelii: is a species of perennial herb with high medicinal and ornamental values, and needs urgent conservation. To facilitate its conservation genetics studies, its complete chloroplast genome was assembled from Illumina sequencing reads. The circular genome is 155,737 bp long, and comprises a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,193 bp each, separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,330 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,021 bp. It encodes 112 gene species (incl. 78 PCGs, 30 tRNAs & 4 rRNAs), with 18 of them being duplicated. Besides, 15 gene species possess a single intron, and another two gene species contain a couple of introns. The nucleotide composition is asymmetric with an overall A+T content of 61.9%. Phylogenetic analysis challenged the current taxonomy of the family Berberidaceae, and suggested A. carmichaelii as being closely related to the two congeners A. barbatum and A. chiisanense.