Chloroplast genome sequencing of loblolly pine

Loblolly pine (P. taeda) is the most important commercial tree species in the southern United States because of its good growth characteristics, desirable wood properties, and broad range . And in China, P. taeda is a major non-native plantation species especially in south China. The use of a breeding strategy has been used in the breeding program of loblolly pine in China since 1980s. Since the cp genome is paternally inherited, it may help to identify the paternity of the selected tree if the maternity is already known. Because of its simple structure, highly conserved sequence, and single parental (maternal or paternal) inheritance characters, the study of the cp genome has become a universal method for evolutionary, taxonomy, and phylogenetic analyses of plants In all conifers. And the cp genome of P. taeda may not be as conserved as previously believed,for nine mutational loci were detected in ycf1 of P. taeda. In recent years, research on chloroplasts has become increasingly in-depth; however, studies focusing on the chloroplast genome of Loblolly pine remain insufficiently comprehensive. Consequently, we utilized Loblolly pine needles to sequence its chloroplast genome, aiming for a more detailed understanding of the chloroplast gene sequences, genomic structure, and SNP variations. This work is intended to provide relevant gene site information for individual identification in Loblolly pine breeding.