Characterized Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Maesa japonica (Myrsinaceae)

Maesa Forssk. is a genus belonging to the family Myrsinaceae with approximately 200 species distributed in the world tropics. Among these, Maesa japonica is distributed in China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea. In Korea, this species only distributed in Jeju Island. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Maesa japonica (Myrsinaceae) was determined to be 157,189 bp in length, consisting of large (87,780 bp) and small (18,143 bp) single-copy regions and a pair of identical inverted repeats (25,633 bp). The overall GC content of the chloroplast genome was 38%, and in the LSC, SSC, and each of IRs it was 35.2%, 30.9%, and 43.1%, respectively. The total of 131 gene genome contains 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of 11 taxa inferred from the chloroplast genome showed a closely relationship with M. salicifolia and M. japonica. The complete cp genome sequence of M. japonica reported here provides important information for future phylogenetic and evolutionary studies in genus Maesa.