The Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequence of Korean Landrace “Subicho” Pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum)

Chloroplast DNA sequences are a versatile tool for species identification and phylogenetic reconstruction of land plants. Different chloroplast loci have been utilized for phylogenetic classification of plant species. However, there is no report for a short DNA sequence that can distinguish all plant species from each other. Molecular markers derived from the complete chloroplast genome can provide effective tools for species identification and phylogenetic resolution. Thus, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Korean landrace “Subicho” pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) has been determined here. The total length of the chloroplast genome is 156,878 bp, with 37.7% overall GC content. A pair of IRs (inverted repeats) of 25,801 bp was separated by a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,929 bp and a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,347 bp. The chloroplast genome harbors 132 known genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. A total of seven of these genes are duplicated in the inverted repeat regions, nine genes and six tRNA genes contain one intron, while two genes and a ycf have two introns. Analysis revealed 144 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and 96 variants, mostly located in the intergenic regions. The types and abundances of repeat units in Capsicum species were relatively conserved and these loci will be useful for developing C. annuum cp genome vectors.