Analysis and characterization of the chloroplast genome of Stephania cepharantha Hayata

AbstractStephania cepharantha Hayata (S. cepharantha) is a common folk medicine herb in China with many therapeutic activities. This study used Illumina sequencing technology to construct a circular chloroplast genome map and compared it with that of other Stephania species. The genome of S. cepharantha is 158,052 bp in length, including a large single-copy region of 88,770 bp, a small single-copy region of 19,760 bp, and two reverse repeat regions of 49,522 bp. The genome encodes eight ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) genes, 37 transfer RNA genes, and 85 protein-coding genes. Nucleotide variation analysis revealed that six highly variable regions of Stephania can be used as potential molecular markers for taxonomic research and evolutionary analysis. This study is the first chloroplast genome report on S. cepharantha, and it provides rich and valuable genetic information for understanding the evolutionary relationships and population inheritance of the species.