Sun Mi HuhP, Ye-Rim Choi, Tae-Hee Kim, Hee-Joo Choi, Hee-Young Gil

Division of Forest Biodiversity, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, Korea

Aster danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung, a biennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, is Korean endemic species and distributed in Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, etc and has high scholarly value. This plant is designated as a national rare and endemic plant. Because it grows in specific environments, such as gravel or sandy soil, it is an important indicator of the ecosystem and the potential to be developed as a horticultural species. Furthermore, it is considered evidence of independent speciation in isolated geographic locations, and therefore has important implications for studying biological evolutionary processes. The taxonomic status of A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung needs to be clarified. Despite its rarity, the importance of evolutionary research, the importance of biodiversity conservation research, and its potential for horticultural industrial applications, its genome information is lacking, and genetic studies are insufficient. In this study, we assembled the chloroplast genome of A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung, a Korean endemic, and performed phylogenetic analysis within the Aster and related taxa. The chloroplast genome of A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung was 152,451 bp long, and contained a total of 174 genes, including 128 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNAs, and 8 rRNAs. By comparing and analyzing the genetic relationships among various species within the Aster, the taxonomic position of A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung was clarified. The chloroplast complete genome of A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung identified in this study provides a foundation for developing molecular markers that can distinguish A. danyangensis J.Y.Kim & G.Y.Chung within the Aster.

This research was funded by Scientific Research Grants (KNA1-2-54-26-6) of the Korea National Arboretum.