The complete chloroplast genome sequences and phylogenetics of <i>Cornus sanguinea</i> L. and <i>Cornus sericea</i> L. (Cornaceae)

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the chloroplast genomes of two species belonging to the genus <i>Cornus</i>, <i>Cornus sanguinea</i> L. and <i>Cornus sericea</i> L. Both plastomes exhibit a typical circular quadripartite structure, with slight variations in the lengths of the large and small single-copy regions. The complete chloroplast genomes of <i>C. sericea</i> and <i>C. sanguinea</i> were assembled and characterized, with lengths of 158,244 bp and 158,663 bp, respectively. A total of 131 genes were identified in each cp genome, comprising 86 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Notably, tetra-, penta-, and hexa-nucleotide simple sequence repeats were absent in both genomes. We investigated the taxonomic relationships among the Cornaceae and the closely related families Hydrangeaceae, Nyssaceae, Garryaceae, Curtisiaceae, and Grubbiaceae. Phylogenetic analyses clustered <i>C. sanguinea</i> and <i>C. sericea</i> into a single well-supported clade Cornaceae, reflecting their close relationships with other species in the family, which is consistent with previous studies. Overall, this study provides new insights into the structure and features of the <i>C. sericea</i> and <i>C. sanguinea</i> cp genomes.