Characterization of the chloroplast genome of Adenophora koreana (Campanulaceae), a species endemic to Korea

The genus Adenophora is known to be a group with severe structural changes in the chloroplast (cp) genome. Among the taxa belonging to this genus, A. koreana was known to be distributed only in North Korea, but recently natural habitats have also been confirmed in South Korea. This study aimed to provide information that can be used in various fields, such as molecular phylogeny and conservation, by analyzing the cp genome of A. koreana for the first time. The results revealed that the cp genome of A. koreana is 175,721 bp in length with a G + C content of 37.4%. The cp genome consists of a large single-copy region of 129,189 bp, a small single-copy region of 29,294 bp, and two inverted repeat regions of 8,619 bp each. It also contains a total of 110 unique genes, including 76 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and four ribosomal RNA genes. The cp genome structure of A. koreana was found to be identical to those of A. racemosa and A. kayasanensis, and the phylogenetic analysis also revealed a close evolutionary relationship among the three species.