Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Paphiopedilum micranthum, an Endangered orchid in China

Paphiopedilum micranthum is a rare species of terrestrial herb in the Orchidaceae. It is naturally distributed in southwestern China and north of Vietnam. Here, we reported the first complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of P. micranthum. The length is 163,243 bp, with 129 genes, including 77 protein coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. It includes two inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 36,128 bp each, which were separated by a large single copy region (LSC) of 89,245 bp and a small single copy region (SSC) of 1742 bp. The overall GC-content of the whole chloroplast is 35.8%, while the corresponding values of the LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 33.2, 20, and 39.3, respectively. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of P. micranthum (GenBank accession number: MN535014) can be used as a useful resource for the evolutionary biology study of phylogenetic studies in Orchidaceae.