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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Systematics and Evolution
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1534171
The first complete mitochondrial genome assembly and comparative analysis of the fern Blechnaceae family: Blechnopsis orientalis
Provisionally accepted
Yutong Huang 
Yanping Xing Wenxiao Men Hefei Xue 
Wenjuan Hou Yanchang Huang Deqiang Dou Tingguo Kang Yanyun Yang *
Liang Xu *- School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Da Lian, China
Blechnopsis orientalis is a medicinal and edible fern species belonging to the Blechnaceae family. Currently, the complete mitochondrial genome of B. orientalis, as well as those of other Blechnaceae species, remains unreported, and studies on fern mitochondrial genome are limited. This study aims to sequence and assemble B. orientalis mitochondrial genome to address this gap in Blechnaceae research, enrich mitochondrial genome data of ferns, and investigate the unique characteristics of fern mitochondrial genome. The results revealed that the mitochondrial genome of B. orientalis has a complex structure comprising 80 contigs, with a total length of 501,663 bp and a GC content of 48.53%. A total of 179 genes were identified, including 40 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 98 tRNA genes, 40 rRNA genes, and one pseudogene (rps11). Phylogenetic analysis based on PCGs from both chloroplast genome and mitochondrial genome aligned with the relationships described in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (PPG I) system. Further comparison with mitochondrial genome of ten other reported fern and lycophyte species revealed that the mitochondrial genome PCGs in these plants are highly conserved, despite significant genome rearrangements among mitochondrial genome. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the evolutionary analysis of B. orientalis and contribute to understanding the characteristics and evolutionary relationships of mitochondrial genome in ferns and lycophytes.
Keywords: Blechnopsis orientalis, fERN, Lycophyte, mtochondrial genome, phylogeny
Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 25 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Xing, Men, Xue, Hou, Huang, Dou, Kang, Yang and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yanyun Yang, School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Da Lian, 116600, China
Liang Xu, School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Da Lian, 116600, China
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