Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships

<i>Hibiscus</i>, which belongs to the Malvaceae family, is primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. <i>Hibiscus</i> species are known for their large, visually striking flowers, which are highly valued for ornamental purposes and are widely admired. Despite...

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Main Authors: Jing Ge, Cheng-Ao Yang, Jia-Yi Wu, Jia-Yu Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Horticulturae
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/3/225
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author Jing Ge
Cheng-Ao Yang
Jia-Yi Wu
Jia-Yu Xue
author_facet Jing Ge
Cheng-Ao Yang
Jia-Yi Wu
Jia-Yu Xue
author_sort Jing Ge
collection DOAJ
description <i>Hibiscus</i>, which belongs to the Malvaceae family, is primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. <i>Hibiscus</i> species are known for their large, visually striking flowers, which are highly valued for ornamental purposes and are widely admired. Despite this diversity, the mitochondrial DNA of <i>Hibiscus</i> species remains largely unexplored. Here, we assembled chromosome-level mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of <i>H. schizopetalus</i>, <i>H. syriacus</i>, <i>H. hamabo</i>, and <i>Talipariti tiliaceum</i> (<i>Hibiscus tiliaceum</i>) using Illumina short reads (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) and PacBio long reads (Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA), and conducted comparative genomic analyses. Our findings revealed that the mitogenomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> species exhibited structural complexity, including variable sizes and multi-molecular configurations, while maintaining high conservation in codon usage bias and GC content. Repeat sequence analysis suggested that repeat-mediated homologous recombination played a critical role in frequent recombination events in the mitogenomes. In addition, phylogenetic analysis showed that <i>Hibiscus</i> species did not form a monophyletic clade, and <i>H. hamabo</i> and <i>T. tiliaceum</i> were positioned in sister clades, which was consistent with the results of synteny analysis. To sum up, our study provides valuable resources for phylogenetic research and makes significant contributions to exploring further genetic mechanisms and biodiversity of <i>Hibiscus</i> species.
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spelling doaj-art-dff7ee3604904a3e9e91c99184eb1d4e2025-08-20T03:43:16ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-02-0111322510.3390/horticulturae11030225Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic RelationshipsJing Ge0Cheng-Ao Yang1Jia-Yi Wu2Jia-Yu Xue3College of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China<i>Hibiscus</i>, which belongs to the Malvaceae family, is primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. <i>Hibiscus</i> species are known for their large, visually striking flowers, which are highly valued for ornamental purposes and are widely admired. Despite this diversity, the mitochondrial DNA of <i>Hibiscus</i> species remains largely unexplored. Here, we assembled chromosome-level mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of <i>H. schizopetalus</i>, <i>H. syriacus</i>, <i>H. hamabo</i>, and <i>Talipariti tiliaceum</i> (<i>Hibiscus tiliaceum</i>) using Illumina short reads (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) and PacBio long reads (Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA), and conducted comparative genomic analyses. Our findings revealed that the mitogenomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> species exhibited structural complexity, including variable sizes and multi-molecular configurations, while maintaining high conservation in codon usage bias and GC content. Repeat sequence analysis suggested that repeat-mediated homologous recombination played a critical role in frequent recombination events in the mitogenomes. In addition, phylogenetic analysis showed that <i>Hibiscus</i> species did not form a monophyletic clade, and <i>H. hamabo</i> and <i>T. tiliaceum</i> were positioned in sister clades, which was consistent with the results of synteny analysis. To sum up, our study provides valuable resources for phylogenetic research and makes significant contributions to exploring further genetic mechanisms and biodiversity of <i>Hibiscus</i> species.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/3/225<i>Hibiscus</i>mitochondrial genomestructural complexityrepeat sequencephylogenetic analysis
spellingShingle Jing Ge
Cheng-Ao Yang
Jia-Yi Wu
Jia-Yu Xue
Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
Horticulturae
<i>Hibiscus</i>
mitochondrial genome
structural complexity
repeat sequence
phylogenetic analysis
title Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
title_full Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
title_fullStr Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
title_full_unstemmed Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
title_short Mitochondrial Genomes of <i>Hibiscus</i> Reveal Structural Heterogeneity and Phylogenetic Relationships
title_sort mitochondrial genomes of i hibiscus i reveal structural heterogeneity and phylogenetic relationships
topic <i>Hibiscus</i>
mitochondrial genome
structural complexity
repeat sequence
phylogenetic analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/3/225
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AT chengaoyang mitochondrialgenomesofihibiscusirevealstructuralheterogeneityandphylogeneticrelationships
AT jiayiwu mitochondrialgenomesofihibiscusirevealstructuralheterogeneityandphylogeneticrelationships
AT jiayuxue mitochondrialgenomesofihibiscusirevealstructuralheterogeneityandphylogeneticrelationships