Comparative analysis of the complete chloroplast genome sequences of four camellia species

Researching the photosynthetic characteristics based on the whole chloroplast genome sequence of Camellia osmantha cv ‘ yidan ’ is important for improving production. We sequenced and analyzed the chloroplast (cp) genomes of C. osmantha cv ‘ yidan ’ . The total cp genome length was 156,981 bp. The cp genomes included 134 genes encoding 81 proteins, 39 transfer RNAs, 8 ribosomal RNAs, and 6 genes with unknown functions. In total, 50 repeat sequences were identified in C. osmantha cv ‘ yidan ’ cp genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. osmantha cv ‘ yidan ’ is more closely related to Camellia vietnamensis cv ‘ hongguo ’ and Camellia oleifera cv ‘ cenruan 3 ’ than to Camellia semiserrata cv ‘ hongyu 1 ’ . Our complete assembly of four Camellia cp genomes may contribute to breeding for high oil content plants and further biological discoveries. The results of this study provide a basis for the assembly of the entire chloroplast genome of C. osmantha cv ‘yidan’.