@Article{biocell.2023.026781,
AUTHOR = {XIAOJUN ZHOU, MENGXUE LIU, LINLIN SONG},
TITLE = {Structural characterization of four <i>Rhododendron</i> spp. chloroplast genomes and comparative analyses with other azaleas},
JOURNAL = {BIOCELL},
VOLUME = {47},
YEAR = {2023},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {657--668},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/biocell/v47n3/51051},
ISSN = {1667-5746},
ABSTRACT = {Azalea is a general designation of <i>Rhododendron</i> in the Ericaceae family. <i>Rhododendron</i> not only has high
ornamental value but also has application value in ecological protection, medicine, and scientific research. In this
study, we used Illumina and PacBio sequencing to assemble and annotate the entire chloroplast genomes (cp
genomes) of four <i>Rhododendron</i> species. The chloroplast genomes of <i>R. concinnum</i>, <i>R. henanense</i> subsp. <i>lingbaoense</i>,
<i>R. micranthum</i>, and <i>R. simsii</i> were assembled into 207,236, 208,015, 207,233, and 206,912 bp, respectively. All
chloroplast genomes contain eight rRNA genes, with either 88 or 89 protein-coding genes. The four cp genomes were
compared and analyzed by bioinformatics, and the phylogenetic analysis based on chloroplast genomes of 26 species
of Ericaceae, Actinidiaceae, and Primulaceae under Ericales was conducted. A comparison of the linear structure of cp
genomes of four <i>Rhododendron</i> showed that there were substantial sequence similarities in coding regions, but high
differences in non-coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis, based on chloroplast whole genome sequences, showed
that all <i>Rhododendron</i> species are in the clade Ericaceae. This study provides valuable genetic information for the
study of population genetics and evolutionary relationships in <i>Rhododendron</i> and other azalea species.},
DOI = {10.32604/biocell.2023.026781}
}