The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T. Anders. (Acanthaceae)

Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T. Anders. is an upright shrub species of Acanthaceae with great ecological and economical values. In this paper, we explored the complete chloroplast genome sequence of T. erecta using next generation sequencing to provide genomic resources that could help to promote its conservation. The genome of T. erecta is 152,202 bp in length, containing a large single-copy region of 84,232 bp, and a small single-copy region of 17,656 bp. It encodes a total of 131 genes, including 8 rRNA genes, 37 tRNA genes, 84 protein-coding genes and 2 pseudo genes. The GC content of T. erecta genome is 38.47%. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that it was closely related to Avicennia marina in Acanthaceae. In addition, we found that T. erecta appeared late clade in the whole family while outgroups plants appeared even later. T. erecta is morphologically similar to other plants in Acanthaceae, but is genetically closed to the outgroup species.