The complete chloroplast genome of , an important economic red alga of the family Gracilariaceae.

The complete chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) of a famous red alga of the family Gracilariaceae, , was deduced by using next-generation sequencing and assembly technology. The complete cpDNA of consists of 182 505 bp and encodes 230 unique genes consisting 204 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 21 transfer RNA genes, 3 ribosomal RNA genes, 1 transfer-messenger RNA genes and 1 non-coding RNA genes. Among 204 PCGs, ccsA gene is interrupted by a intron. Unlike the typical quadripartite structure (a pair of inverted repeats separated by the small single-copy and large single-copy units) of cpDNA in higher plants, the complete cpDNA of is very compact, containing no inverted repeat and just one copy of rRNA gene cluster consisting of 16S, 23S and 5S rRNA genes. The genic regions account for 83.7% of whole cpDNA genome, and the G + C content of the cpDNA was 27.4%. The low G + C content of cpDNA is largely contributed by high A + T content in the PCGs and non-coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis of the 15 complete cpDNA from rhodophyta shows that is closely related to macroalga . The complete cpDNA of provides essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis for rhodophyta.