Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Cycas ferruginea, a vulnerable species

Cycas ferruginea F. N. Wei (1994) is recorded in the list of wild plant protection in China as a national first-class protected plant. The complete chloroplast genome of C. ferruginea was analyzed for the first time in this article. The genome is 162,045 bp in length, which contains a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,048 bp each, a large single-copy (LSC) region of 88,827 bp, and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 23,122 bp. The genome comprises a total of 130 encoded genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 transfer RNA genes. The total GC content is 39.44%, and the corresponding values of the LSC, SSC, and IRs are 38.73%, 36.56%, and 42.02%, respectively. The phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed based on the complete chloroplast genome sequences of 16 species. Results showed that C. ferruginea is close to C. debaoensis, C. bifida, and C. szechuanensis.