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Phylogenomic evidence from an increasing number of studies has demonstrated that different data sets and analytical approaches often reconstruct strongly supported but conflicting relationships. In this study, 785 single‐copy nuclear genes and 75 complete plastomes were used to infer the phylogenetic relationships and estimate the historical biogeography of the apple genus Malus sensu lato, an economically important lineage disjunctly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and involved in known and suspected hybridization and allopolyploidy events. The nuclear phylogeny recovered the monophyly of Malus s.l. (including Docynia); however, the genus was supported to be biphyletic in the plastid phylogeny. An ancient chloroplast capture event in the Eocene in western North America best explains the cytonuclear discordance. Our conflict analysis demonstrated that ILS, hybridization, and allopolyploidy could explain the widespread nuclear gene tree discordance. One deep hybridization event (Malus doumeri) and one recent event (Malus coronaria) were detected in Malus s.l. Furthermore, our historical biogeographic analysis integrating living and fossil data supported a widespread East Asian‐western North American origin of Malus s.l. in the Eocene, followed by several extinction and dispersal events in the Northern Hemisphere. We also propose a general workflow for assessing phylogenomic discordance and biogeographic analysis using deep genome skimming data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cymbidium goeringii, commonly known as the spring orchid, has long been favoured for horticultural purposes in Asian countries. It is a popular orchid with much demand for improvement and development for its valuable varieties. Until now, its reference genome has not been published despite its popularity and conservation efforts. Here, we report the de novo assembly of the C. goeringii genome, which is the largest among the orchids published to date, using a strategy that combines short‐ and long‐read sequencing and chromosome conformation capture (Hi‐C) information. The total length of all scaffolds is 3.99 Gb, with an N50 scaffold size of 178.2 Mb. A total of 29,556 protein‐coding genes were annotated and 3.55 Gb (88.87% of genome) repetitive sequences were identified. We constructed pseudomolecular chromosomes using Hi‐C, incorporating 89.4% of the scaffolds in 20 chromosomes. We identified 220 expanded and 106 contracted genes families in C. goeringii after divergence from its close relative. We also identified new gene families, resistance gene analogues and changes within the MADS‐box genes, which control a diverse set of developmental processes during orchid evolution. Our high quality chromosomal‐level assembly of C. goeringii can provide a platform for elucidating the genomic evolution of orchids, mining functional genes for agronomic traits and for developing molecular markers for accelerated breeding as well as accelerating conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodwardia japonica is one of the diverse members of the fern group and medicinally important genus. In Korea, the natural resources of W. japonica are being exhausted by excessive exploitation and require urgent conservation. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of W. japonica was generated, and its structure was compared with that of other members of same family. The chloroplast genome was 153224 bp long, with a typical quadripartite structure including a pair of inverted repeat regions (24591 bp) separated by a large (82480 bp) and small (21562 bp) single-copy (SC) region. The genome encodes a total of 88 protein-coding genes, 35 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Additionally we identified 87 RNA editing sites in 52 genes; most of the substitution was U to C (50 sites), while C to U conversion occurred in 37 positions. The phylogenetic analysis strongly supported the relationship of W. japonica with W. unigemmata and. A. melanocaulon (Blechnoideae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sturgeon of unknown species of 11 kg body weight was caught in Gosung-gun, Gangwon Province, Korea (38°17′10.67″N, 128°33′20.28″E). The morphological characteristics were similar to species of the genusAcipensersuch asAcipenser medirostris, A. schrenckiiandA. baerii, but it was not an obvious match. To identify the species using genetic tools, we analysed the complete mitogenome of this unidentified sturgeon, and found it to comprise 16,526 bp. The genome encoded 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes and 1 control region. The nucleotide divergence between the complete mitogenome of the unidentified sturgeon and those of fourAcipenserspp. (A. transmontanus, A. dabryanus, A. schrenckiiandA. baerii) was 0.736%, 3.875%, 0.085% and 5.580%, respectively. This study suggests that the unidentified sturgeon is able to predict the least maternal lines withA. schrenckii. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The complete mitogenome of the Korean hare ( Lepus coreanus) was determined by the long and accurate polymerase chain reaction and primer-walking methods. The mitogenome of the Korean hare is 17,472 bp in length and contains sequences that encode 13 protein genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and a noncoding control region. The mitogenome is arranged in an identical order to that found in most other vertebrates. All mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand, except for eight tRNA genes and the ND6 gene. The control region contains putative termination associated elements, conserved sequence blocks and short and long tandem repeats motifs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mtDNA sequence of Pungtungia herzi in Korea comprises 16,599 nt and contains 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs and 22 tRNAs). The content and the arrangement of the genome of the Korean specimen were identical to that previously reported for a Japanese specimen, with 98.3% genetic similarity between the two complete mitogenomes. The pairwise distances of three complete mitogenomes obtained among Pungtungia herzi and Pseudopongtungia nigra. Pungtungia herzi and Pseudopongtungia tenuicorpa, and Pungtungia nigra and Pseudopongtungia tenuicorpa were 9.26%, 12.88% and 12.75%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We isolated and characterized microsatellite loci in Viola mirabilis ( Violaceae), an endangered species from South Korea. Twenty-three polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and tested in Korean, Chinese and Japanese populations. The number of alleles per locus varied from two to eight. The observed and expected heterozygosities within the three populations were 0.000-0.625 and 0.469-0.695, respectively. A total of six loci in the Korean population, one locus in the Chinese population and seven loci in the Japanese population deviated from Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium. We expect that these newly developed microsatellite markers will contribute to understanding the phylogeography and population genetics of V. mirabilis, which will aid in developing conservation strategies for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]