The complete chloroplast genome of the endangered species Cephalotaxus hainanensis (Cephalotaxaceae)

Cephalotaxus hainanensis is an endangered tree endemic to China with high medicinal values. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of C. hainanensis was de novo assembled using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The whole chloroplast genome was 136,877 bp long with an asymmetric base composition (32.6% A, 17.6% C, 17.4% G and 32.4% T). The genome annotation predicted a total of 114 genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 28 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The neighbour-joining phylogenetic analysis based on 41 complete chloroplast genome sequences showed that C. hainanensis was more closely related to the congeneric C. sinensis. The assembled chloroplast genome of C. hainanensis will provide useful genomic data both for the phylogenetic research of Cephalotaxus and the conservation of this endangered species.