title: The complete chloroplast genome sequence of an endemic monotypic genusHagenia(Rosaceae): structural comparative analysis, gene content and microsatellite detection.
abstract: Hageniais an endangered monotypic genus endemic to the topical mountains of Africa. The only species,Hagenia abyssinica(Bruce) J.F. Gmel, is an important medicinal plant producing bioactive compounds that have been traditionally used by African communities as a remedy for gastrointestinal ailments in both humans and animals. Complete chloroplast genomes have been applied in resolving phylogenetic relationships within plant families. We employed high-throughput sequencing technologies to determine the complete chloroplast genome sequence ofH. abyssinica.The genome is a circular molecule of 154,961 base pairs (bp), with a pair of Inverted Repeats (IR) 25,971 bp each, separated by two single copies; a large (LSC, 84,320 bp) and a small single copy (SSC, 18,696).H. abyssinica's chloroplast genome has a 37.1% GC content and encodes 112 unique genes, 78 of which code for proteins, 30 are tRNA genes and four are rRNA genes. A comparative analysis with twenty other species, sequenced to-date from the family Rosaceae, revealed similarities in structural organization, gene content and arrangement. The observed size differences are attributed to the contraction/expansion of the inverted repeats. The translational initiation factor gene (infA) which had been previously reported in other chloroplast genomes was conspicuously missing inH. abyssinica. A total of 172 microsatellites and 49 large repeat sequences were detected in the chloroplast genome. A Maximum Likelihood analyses of 71 protein-coding genes placedHageniain Rosoideae. The availability of a complete chloroplast genome, the first in the Sanguisorbeae tribe, is beneficial for further molecular studies on taxonomic and phylogenomic resolution within the Rosaceae family.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Gichira
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Josphat K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Saina
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhicheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Guangwan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Gituru
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Qingfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.|Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Afromontane; Chloroplast genome; East Africa; Hagenia abyssinica; Phylogeny; Rosaceae