Asterarcys is a resilient microalgal species which can sustain high light intensities and have high biomass and lipid productivity under mixotrophy. These attributes make it a potential candidate to produce biodiesel and biofuels. However, no genetic information is currently available for this species. Here, we report the chloroplast genome sequence of Asterarcys sp. and compare it with the chloroplast genome of closely related chlorophyceaen microalgae. The chloroplast genome of Asterarcys sp. is present as a ~111 kb circular molecule with 88 genes and a coding density of 50.28%. The 111,776 bp genome shows a quadripartite structure with two 6297 bp long inverted repeats separating single copy regions (SSC) of almost equal sizes. The small and compact genome of Asterarcys shows similarity in gene structure and organization with that of its closest relative Scenedesmus obliquus. It reinforces the compact nature of chloroplast genomes of Sphaeropleales as compared to that of inflated genomes in Chlamydomonadales. The genome shows a biased distribution of genes with 50 of the protein-coding genes encoded from one strand and 15 from the opposite strand. This biased distribution of genes is likewise to that of Scenedesmus obliquus. The phylogenetic tree based on protein-coding genes from chlorophycean species places Asterarcys close to Scenedesmus. The chloroplast genome information of Asterarcys will help understand the phylogeny of Sphaeropleales and Chlorophyceae. In the present study, we also report a simple and effective method for isolation of Asterarcys sp. chloroplast DNA of high quality and purity which is an essential prerequisite for efficient genome sequencing.

Asterarcys是一种有弹性的微藻类，可以在混合营养下维持高光强度，并具有高生物量和脂质生产率。这些特性使其成为生产生物柴油和生物燃料的潜在候选人。但是，目前没有该物种的遗传信息。在这里，我们报告Asterarcys sp。的叶绿体基因组序列。并将其与密切相关的叶绿藻微藻的叶绿体基因组进行比较。Asterarcys sp。的叶绿体基因组。它以〜111 kb的环状分子存在，具有88个基因，编码密度为50.28％。111,776 bp的基因组显示了一个四部分结构，具有两个6297 bp长的反向重复序列，将几乎相等大小的单拷贝区域（SSC）隔开。小而紧凑的基因组Asterarcys在基因结构和组织上与其最近缘的Scenedesmus obliquus相似。与衣藻的膨胀基因组相比，它增强了鳞茎叶绿体基因组的紧凑性。基因组显示基因的偏向分布，其中一条链编码的蛋白质编码基因有50个，相反链编码的蛋白质编码基因有15个。这种偏向的基因分布与斜栅藻一样。基于蛋白质编码基因从绿藻的物种进化树的地方Asterarcys接近栅藻。星状藻的叶绿体基因组信息将有助于了解球藻和绿藻科的系统发育。在本研究中，我们还报告了一种简单而有效的方法，用于分离Asterarcys sp。高质量和高纯度的叶绿体DNA是高效基因组测序的必要先决条件。