AUTHOR=Lee Hyo Ju , Lee Yi , Lee Sang-Choon , Kim Chang-Kug , Kang Ji-Nam , Kwon Soo-Jin , Kang Sang-Ho 

TITLE=Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes of Schisandra repanda and Kadsura japonica

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1183406

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1183406

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The family Schisandraceae is a basal angiosperm plant group distributed in East and Southeast Asia and includes many medicinal plant species such as <italic>Schisandra chinensis</italic>. In this study, mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of two species, <italic>Schisandra repanda</italic> and <italic>Kadsura japonica</italic>, in the family were characterized through <italic>de novo</italic> assembly using sequencing data obtained with Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies. The mitogenomes of <italic>S. repanda</italic> were assembled into one circular contig (571,107 bp) and four linear contigs (10,898–607,430 bp), with a total of 60 genes: 38 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 19 tRNA genes, and 3 rRNA genes. The mitogenomes of <italic>K. japonica</italic> were assembled into five circular contigs (211,474–973,503 bp) and three linear contigs (8,010–72,712 bp), with a total of 66 genes: 44 PCGs, 19 tRNA genes, and 3 rRNA genes. The mitogenomes of the two species had complex structural features with high repeat numbers and chloroplast-derived sequences, as observed in other plant mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analysis based on PCGs revealed the taxonomical relationships of <italic>S. repanda</italic> and <italic>K. japonica</italic> with other species from Schisandraceae. Finally, molecular markers were developed to distinguish between <italic>S. repanda</italic>, <italic>K. japonica</italic>, and <italic>S. chinensis</italic> on the basis of InDel polymorphisms present in the mitogenomes. The mitogenomes of <italic>S. repanda</italic> and <italic>K. japonica</italic> will be valuable resources for molecular and taxonomic studies of plant species that belong to the family Schisandraceae.</p>