Assembly and comparative analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Yulania liliiflora: an ornamental plant with high medicinal value

Yulania liliiflora is a highly exploitable plant with medicinal value from its flower buds, leaves, and bark. The species, as an ornamental plant, has significant implications for the phylogeny of land plants and offers promising prospects for scientific research. In this study, the Y. liliiflora mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) was assembled into a breach linear chromosome using PacBio HiFi sequencing, with a length of 865,191 bp and a GC content of 46.95%. A total of 69 genes were identified in the Y. liliiflora mitogenome. The Y. liliiflora mitogenome contains 65 unique genes, including 41 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNA genes, and three rRNA genes. Numerous repetitive sequences have been discovered, revealing the recombination events and the reason for the bigger mitogenome of Y. liliiflora. Many mitochondrial plastid sequences were found, with 12 complete chloroplast genes encompassed in these homologous fragments. Mitogenome from other Magnoliids were also used for collinearity comparison, which suggests a high recombination rate between Y. liliiflora and Magnoliids. Analysis of phylogeny has demonstrated that Y. liliiflora had the strongest genetic relation to Magnolia biondii of the Magnoliaceae, and Magnoliids emerged as a sister group to the clade encompassing monocots and eudicots. The results presented in this paper improve the understanding of the existing genetic knowledge of the genus Yulania. Simultaneously, they offer a promising avenue for conducting more comprehensive genomic investigations of Y. liliiflora.