Characterization of the complete chloroplast genomes of three Chirita species (C. brachytricha, C. eburnea & C. liboensis) endemic to China

The genus Chirita (Lamiales: Gesneriaceae) comprises a group of herbal species with high ornamental and medicinal values. Here, complete chloroplast (cp) genomes were assembled for three Chirita species (C. brachytricha, C. eburnea & C. liboensis) endemic to China, with their genome sizes being 153,723, 152,963 and 152,989 bp, respectively. The three cp genomes all comprise a pair of inverted repeat regions, separated by a large single-copy region and a small single-copy region, and harbor the same panel of 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes (80 PCG species), 37 tRNA genes (29 tRNA species) and eight rRNA genes (four rRNA species). The occurrence of introns was detected in 15 gene species. These cp genomes have almost identical asymmetric base compositions, and are all biased towards A/T. Phylogenetic analysis corroborated the current family-level taxonomy of the order Lamiales and the inclusion of the genus Chirita within the family Gesneriaceae.