No abstract

Lycium ruthenicum is a precious desert plant with high medicinal and ecological values. It contains rich anthocyanins, which are safe natural pigments and could be used for natural food colorants. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of L. ruthenicum was assembled on the basis of next generation sequencing. The whole genome is 154,996 bp in length, including two single copy regions (LSC: 85,993 bp and SSC: 18,213 bp) and two inverted repeat regions (IR: 25,395 bp). The overall G þ C content of the genome is 37.9%. The cp genome consists of 111 unique genes, including 30 tRNA genes, 4 rRNA genes and 77 protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that L. ruthenicum is closely clustered with Atropa belladonna, Przewalskia tangutica, and Scopolia parviflora.

Coptis is one of the most important medicinal plant genera in eastern Asia. To better understand the evolution of this genus, the complete chloroplast genome of C. chinensis var. brevisepala was obtained by next-generation sequencing. The plastome of C. chinensis var. brevisepala is 155,426 bp in length, and consists of large (LSC, 84,488 bp) and small (SSC, 17,402bp) single-copy regions, separated by pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs, 26,768 bp). It harbours 111 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, and four ribosomal RNA genes. Rps19 and ycf1 were pseudogenized due to incomplete duplication in IR regions. The nucleotide composition is asymmetric (30.5% A, 19.4% C, 18.7% G, and 31.3% T) with an overall G þ C content of 38.2%. The phylogeny of Ranunculaceae based on 75 CDSs of 27 taxa showed that Ranunculoideae is paraphyletic and thus needs redefinition.

According to morphological and molecular data, a new species of Lecidea s. str., Lecidea glacierensis, is described from Xinjiang Province, China. It is distinctive due to its well-developed, regularly areolate to bullate thallus, and its habitat on calciferous rocks. This species was collected mostly in the area of Tianshan No.1 Glacier, which is located at an elevation of 3454 m and c. 118 km south-west of Urumqi and is considered to be one of the most important dryland glacier areas in Asia. An illustration and detailed description of the taxon are provided.