Despite the significant progress that has been made in the genome sequencing of Prunus, this area of research has been lacking a systematic description of the mitochondrial genome of this genus for a long time. In this study, we assembled the mitochondrial genome of the Chinese plum (Prunus salicina) using Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing data. The mitochondrial genome size of P. salicina was found to be 508,035 base pair (bp), which is the largest reported in the Rosaceae family to date, and P. salicina was shown to be 63,453 bp longer than sweet cherry (P. avium). The P. salicina mitochondrial genome contained 37 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 3 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 16 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. Two plastid-derived tRNA were identified. We also found two short repeats that captured the nad3 and nad6 genes and resulted in two copies. In addition, nine pairs of repeat sequences were identified as being involved in the mediation of genome recombination. This is crucial for the formation of subgenomic configurations. To characterize RNA editing sites, transcriptome data were used, and we identified 480 RNA editing sites in protein-coding sequences. Among them, the initiation codon of the nad1 gene confirmed that an RNA editing event occurred, and the genomic encoded ACG was edited as AUG in the transcript. Combined with previous reports on the chloroplast genome, our data complemented our understanding of the last part of the organelle genome of plum, which will facilitate our understanding of the evolution of organelle genomes.

Prunus tomentosa (Thunb.) Wall has high nutritional value and medicinal effects. It is widespread in China; however, most plants growing in the wild are near extinction in many places. Predicting the potential distribution of P. tomentosa under climate change is helpful for cultivating and protecting wild germplasm resources. We used two general circulation models (CCSM4 and MIROC-ESM) and two future climate scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) to predict P. tomentosa’s present and future geographical distribution. A total of 137 distribution data points and 19 bioclimatic variables were imported into the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt). The optimal parameter combination (feature class LQHPT, regularized multiplier 3.0) was selected with corrected Akaike Information Criterion as the index. The results showed that at present and in the future, P. tomentosa was distributed across the northern provinces, with Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan being the most suitable regions. Compared with the current climatic conditions, the potential growing area of P. tomentosa will move north, and the growing area will increase, especially in Xinjiang, where the low-impact zone area decreases. Temperature and humidity were the main variables affecting the potential distribution of the plant, including the average temperature in the coldest season (Bio11) and precipitation in the warmest season (Bio18).

Prunus salicina ‘Wushan plum’ is a local economic fruit crop. In this study, we reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of P. salicina ‘Wushan plum’. The genome has a circular structure of 157,921 bp containing a large single-copy region (LSC) of 86,184 bp, a small copy region (SSC) of 19,031 bp, and two inverted repeats (IR) of 26,353 bp by each. It harbors 110 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA genes, and 28 transfer RNA genes. The phylogenomic analysis shows that P. salicina ‘Wushan plum’ is clustered with Prunus salicina.