Abstract
The complete chloroplast genome of Castanopsis concinna (Champion ex Bentham) A. de Candolle, an endemic species to Hong Kong and southeastern China, was determined in this study. Due to logging, historical habitat loss, and fragmentation, conservation efforts for C. concinna are becoming increasingly urgent as the species is now known from only a handful of locations. To aid efforts to preserve and propagate the species ex situ, knowledge on the distribution of genetic diversity in the remaining populations is crucial. Here we report the complete chloroplast genome sequence of one individual collected in Hong Kong in 2014. The total genome size was 160 606 bp in length, containing a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25 677 bp, which were separated by a large single copy (LSC) and small single copy (SSC) of 90 368 and 18 884 bp, respectively. The overall GC content of the plastid genome was 36.8%. 136 genes were annotated, including 82 protein-coding genes, 46 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. In these genes, 13 contained one or two introns.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge R. Saunders, L. Wong and students from Hong Kong University, Gunter Fischer from Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden (HK), and K. Pang from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) for their invaluable assistance in our ongoing collecting and sampling efforts of the Hong Kong flora.
Declaration of interest
This work was supported by grants from Guangxi University (Nanning) to J. S. S. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.