The complete chloroplast genome of Juniperus squamata (Cupressaceae), a shrubby conifer from Asian Mountains

Abstract The complete chloroplast genome of Juniperus squamata, a shrubby conifer of ornamental value, is determined in this study. The complete chloroplast genome size is 127,792？bp in length. The genome contains 118 genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 32 transfer RNA genes, and four ribosomal RNA genes (16S ribosomal RNA, 23S ribosomal RNA, 4.5S ribosomal RNA, and 5S ribosomal RNA). It does not contain inverted repeat (IR) sequence. The overall GC content of J. squamata cpDNA is 35.1%. The phylogenetic analysis suggests its close relationship with J. recurva and J. tibetica from Himalaya and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, respectively. The genome may contribute to evolutionary studies of conifers