AUTHOR=Chen Xinlian , Zhou Jianguo , Cui Yingxian , Wang Yu , Duan Baozhong , Yao Hui 

TITLE=Identification of Ligularia Herbs Using the Complete Chloroplast Genome as a Super-Barcode

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.00695

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.00695

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>More than 30 <italic>Ligularia</italic> Cass. (Asteraceae) species have long been used in folk medicine in China. Morphological features and common DNA regions are both not ideal to identify <italic>Ligularia</italic> species. As some <italic>Ligularia</italic> species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are hazardous to human and animal health and are involved in metabolic toxification in the liver, it is important to find a better way to distinguish these species. Here, we report complete chloroplast (CP) genomes of six <italic>Ligularia</italic> species, <italic>L. intermedia</italic>, <italic>L. jaluensis</italic>, <italic>L. mongolica</italic>, <italic>L. hodgsonii</italic>, <italic>L. veitchiana</italic>, and <italic>L. fischeri</italic>, obtained through high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology. These CP genomes showed typical circular tetramerous structure and their sizes range from 151,118 to 151,253 bp. The GC content of each CP genome is 37.5%. Every CP genome contains 134 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and two pseudogenes (<italic>ycf1</italic> and <italic>rps19</italic>). From the mVISTA, there were no potential coding or non-coding regions to distinguish these six <italic>Ligularia</italic> species, but the maximum likelihood tree of the six <italic>Ligularia</italic> species and other related species showed that the whole CP genome can be used as a super-barcode to identify these six <italic>Ligularia</italic> species. This study provides invaluable data for species identification, allowing for future studies on phylogenetic evolution and safe medical applications of <italic>Ligularia</italic>.</p>