Characterization of the complete plastid genome of a Chinese endemic species Carya kweichowensis

Carya kweichowensis is an importantly economic tree species in Juglandaceae, which is critically endangered and endemic to Guizhou, China. The plastid genome of C. kweichowensis was assembled and characterized based on Illumina pair-end sequencing data using genome skimming approach. The complete plastid genome is 175,313 bp in length, with a GC content of 35.8%. It is a typical quadripartite structure, containing a large single copy (LSC) region of 89,858 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 3569 bp separated by a pair of extremely extensive inverted repeats (IRs) of 40,943 bp. A total of 142 genes were annotated, including 94 protein-coding genes, 40 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. A maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree on plastid genomes revealed that C. kweichowensis is close to Annamocarya sinensis. The newly characterized complete plastid genome of C. kweichowensis will provide essential data for further studies of this endangered species.