Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of the endangered Chinese species Cymbidium lowianum (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f

Cymbidium lowianum (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. is a Class I endangered species in China with important ornamental, economic, and breeding value, especially wild C. lowianum. This study used Illumina high-throughput sequencing technologies to sequence and analyze the complete chloroplast genome of C. lowianum. The genome features of C. lowianum and the phylogenetic relationships among Orchidaceae species were reported and established. The complete chloroplast genome is 155,447 bp long, consisting of a pair of inverse duplication regions that are 26,710 bp long, a large single-copy region of 84,184 bp, and a small single-copy region of 17,843 bp. The entire genome contains 74 mRNA genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree of 24 Orchidaceae species revealed Cymbidium lowianum is more closely related to Cymbidium erythraeum.