Complete chloroplast genome of Eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis (Araliaceae), an endemic Korean species

Eleutherococcus Maxim. belongs to the family Araliaceae, with approximately 40 species distributed in Eastern Asia and the Himalayan regions. Among these, Eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis is distributed only in the central Korean Peninsula. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis (Araliaceae) was determined to be 156,765 bp in length, consisting of large (86,592 bp) and small (18,239 bp) single-copy regions and a pair of identical inverted repeats (25,967 bp). The overall GC content of the chloroplast genome was 37.9%, and in the large singlecopy sequence, the small single-copy sequence, and each of inverted repeat sequences, the contents were 36.2%, 32%, and 43%, respectively. The genome consists of 132 genes, made up of 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. A cp genome phylogenetic analysis of the 12 taxa inferred from the cp genome revealed a close relationship between Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus and E. divaricatus var. chiisanensis<. The complete cp genome sequence of E. divaricatus var. chiisanensis provides important information for future phylogenetic and evolutionary studies of the genus Eleutherococcus.