Comparative analysis of complete chloroplast genome sequences of four major Amorphophallus species

Amorphophallus (Araceae) contains more than 170 species that are mainly distributed in Asia and Africa. Because the bulbs of Amorphophallus are rich in glucomannan, they have been widely used in food, medicine, the chemical industry and so on. To better understand the evolutionary relationships and mutation patterns in the chloroplast genome of Amorphophallus, the complete chloroplast genomes of four species were sequenced. The chloroplast genome sequences of A. albus, A. bulbifer, A. konjac and A. muelleri ranged from 162,853 bp to 167,424 bp. The A. albus chloroplast (cp) genome contains 113 genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. The A. bulbifer cp genome contains 111 genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. A. muelleri contains 111 and 113 genes, comprising 78 and 80 protein-coding genes, respectively, 29 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. The IR (inverted repeat) region/LSC (long single copy) region and IR/SSC (short single copy) region borders of the four Amorphophallus cp genomes were compared. In addition to some genes being deleted, variations in the copy numbers and intron numbers existed in some genes in the four cp genomes. One hundred thirty-four to 164 SSRs (simple sequence repeats) were detected in the four cp genomes. In addition, the highest mononucleotide SSRs were composed of A and T repeat units, and the majority of dinucleotides were composed of AT and TA. SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and indels (insertion-deletions) were calculated from coding genes and noncoding genes, respectively. These divergences comprising SSRs, SNPs and indel markers will be useful in testing the maternal inheritance of the chloroplast genome, identifying species differentiation and even in breeding programs. Furthermore, the regression of ndhK was detected from four Amorphophallus cp genomes in our study. Complete cp genome sequences of four Amorphophallus species and other plants were used to perform phylogenetic analyses. The results showed that Amorphophallus was clustered in Araceae, and Amorphophallus was divided into two clades; A. albus and A. konjac were clustered in one clade, and A. bulbifer and A. muelleri were clustered in another clade. Phylogenetic analysis among the Amorphophallus genus was conducted based on matK and rbcL. The phylogenetic trees showed that the relationships among the Amorphophallus species were consistent with their geographical locations. The complete chloroplast genome sequence information for the four Amorphophallus species will be helpful for elucidating Amorphophallus phylogenetic relationships.