Characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the complete chloroplast genome of <i>Mesembryanthemum cordifolium</i> L. F. (Aizoaceae)

<i>Mesembryanthemum cordifolium</i>, a perennial plant with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the Aizoaceae family, has significant ornamental and medicinal values. In this study, we reported the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of this species. The total genome size was 153,734 bp in length, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85,692 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,212 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 24,915 bp by each. The overall GC content of the <i>M. cordifolium</i> chloroplast genome was 37.08%. The genome encodes 131 genes, comprising 87 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 36 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and eight ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs). Phylogenetic analysis shows this species was relatively close to <i>M. crystallinum</i>. This chloroplast genome sequence will be valuable for species discrimination and for understanding phylogenetic relationships within the genus <i>Mesembryanthemum</i>.

心叶日中花（Mesembryanthemum cordifolium）是番杏科（Aizoaceae）中一类具备景天酸代谢（crassulacean acid metabolism, CAM）途径的多年生植物，具有重要的观赏与药用价值。本研究首次报道了该物种的完整叶绿体基因组序列。该基因组总长度为153734 bp，包含1个长单拷贝（large single-copy, LSC）区域（85692 bp）、1个短小单拷贝（small single-copy, SSC）区域（18212 bp）以及一对反向重复（inverted repeat, IR）区域，单区域长度为24915 bp。心叶日中花叶绿体基因组的整体GC含量为37.08%。该基因组共编码131个基因，其中包括87个蛋白质编码基因（protein-coding genes, PCGs）、36个转运RNA基因（transfer RNA genes, tRNAs）以及8个核糖体RNA基因（ribosomal RNA genes, rRNAs）。系统发育分析结果显示，该物种与冰叶日中花（Mesembryanthemum crystallinum）亲缘关系相对较近。该叶绿体基因组序列将为日中花属（Mesembryanthemum）内的物种鉴定以及系统发育关系解析提供重要参考价值。