Hye Been Kim1P, Eun Su Kang1, Ju Eun Jang1, Dong Chan Son1

1Division of Forest Biodiversity Research, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, Korea

In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete chloroplast genomes of two Korean endemic plants, Inula minipetala (Asteraceae) and Semiaquilegia quelpaertensis (Ranunculaceae), and report their genomic features and phylogenetic placements. Both plastomes exhibited the typical quadripartite structure of most angiosperms, comprising a large single-copy (LSC) region, a small single-copy (SSC) region, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs). The chloroplast genome of I. minipetala, recently confirmed in Geumsan, was 150,781 bp in length (LSC 82,452 bp; SSC 18,435 bp; IR 24,947 bp) and contained 129 genes in total, including 84 coding sequences (CDSs), 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The chloroplast genome of S. quelpaertensis, distributed on Jeju, was 162,312 bp (LSC 91,355 bp; SSC 17,331 bp; IR 26,813 bp) and comprised 128 genes, including 82 CDSs, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Additionally, to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of the two species with their close relatives, we conducted phylogenetic analyses separately for I. minipetala and S. quelpaertensis using CDSs extracted from the chloroplast genomes assembled in this study together with chloroplast genomes of congeneric relatives retrieved from NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). The results showed that I. minipetala is most closely related to I. linariifolia, and S. quelpaertensis is sister to S. adoxoides. This study provides chloroplast genome information for the two species, which can be used not only to support accurate identification and conservation of rare and endemic Korean plants, but also as a foundational resource for future phylogenetic and evolutionary studies of these genera.