Assembly and comparative analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Poa pratensis

Abstract

AbstractPoa pratensis is a widely cultivated turf grass with strong cold and drought resistance. While the chloroplast genome of P. pratensis has been sequenced, its mitochondrial genome remains unexplored. This study assembled the mitochondrial genome of P. pratensis, revealing a total length of 447,463 bp and a guanine‐cytosine content of 44.41%. Its main structure comprises a single circular molecule. Annotation results revealed the presence of 56 genes, including 34 unique protein‐coding genes, 19 tRNA genes, and three rRNA genes. Additionally, we investigated codon usage bias, repeats, sequence migration, and RNA editing events in the genome. Furthermore, we constructed a phylogenetic tree based on the mitochondrial genomes of P. pratensis and 20 related plants. Notably, synteny analysis results demonstrated that the mitochondrial genome of P. pratensis exhibited greater variation and more significant rearrangement than those of its close relatives. This study reports the complete mitochondrial genome of P. pratensis for the first time, providing a solid foundation for further research into the genetics of bluegrass.