AUTHOR=Yu Qun-Fei , Tan Yun-Hong , Yu Wen-Bin , Yang Shi-Ting , Huang Jie-Peng , Caraballo-Ortiz Marcos A. , Liu Chao , Song Yu 

TITLE=Comparative analyses of eight complete plastid genomes of two hemiparasitic Cassytha vines in the family Lauraceae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2023.1192170

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2023.1192170

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Cassytha</italic> is the sole genus of hemiparasitic vines (ca. 20 spp.) belonging to the Cassytheae tribe of the Lauraceae family. It is extensively distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we determined the complete plastid genome sequences of <italic>C. filiformis</italic> and <italic>C. larsenii</italic>, which do not possess the typical quadripartite structure. The length of <italic>C. filiformis</italic> plastomes ranged from 114,215 to 114,618 bp, whereas that of <italic>C. larsenii</italic> plastomes ranged from 114,900 to 114,988 bp. Comparative genomic analysis revealed 1,013 mutation sites, four large intragenomic deletions, and five highly variable regions in the eight plastome sequences. Phylogenetic analyses based on 61 complete plastomes of Laurales species, 19 ITS sequences, and <italic>trnK</italic> barcodes from 91 individuals of <italic>Cassytha</italic> spp. confirmed a non-basal group comprising individuals of <italic>C. filiformis</italic>, <italic>C. larsenii</italic>, and <italic>C. pubescens</italic> in the family Lauraceae and proposed a sister relationship between <italic>C. filiformis</italic> and <italic>C. larsenii</italic>. Further morphological comparisons indicated that the presence or absence of hairs on the haustoria and the shape or size of fruits were useful traits for differentiating <italic>C. filiformis</italic> and <italic>C. larsenii</italic>.</p>