Ardisia crispa(Myrsinaceae) is an ethnomedicine with horticultural and important medicinal values. Its morphology is complex, and its identification is difficult. We analyse the chloroplast genome characteristics and phylogenetic position of A. crispa to provide basic research data for the identification of A. crispa species and resource conservation. This study assemble and annotate the chloroplast genome of A. crispa and to compare it with the chloroplast genome within Ardisia. The A. crispa chloroplast genome is 156,785 bp in length, with a typical quadripartite structure containing 131 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes; a total of 59 SSRs sites were identified, and the codon preference of this chloroplast genome is greater in A/U than in G/C, and leucine is the amino acid with the highest frequency of use. The chloroplast genomes of the nine Ardisia species are conserved in gene content and number, with more stable boundaries and less variation. In the phylogenetic tree, A. crispa is clustered on a branch with A. crispa var dielsii, and is closely related to A. mamillata and A. pedalis. In this study, we constructed and analyzed the chloroplast genome structure of A. crispa, and conducted phylogenetic analysis using the whole chloroplast genome sequence data of Ardisia plants, which is of great significance in understanding the genetic basis of A. crispa and adaptive evolution in Ardisia plants, and this will lay the foundation for the future research on A. crispa resource conservation and species identification.

Epimedium sagittatum (Berberidaceae), a medicinal plant with a documented history of over 2,000 years in China for the treatment of kidney yang deficiency and rheumatism, has been cultivated in Tongren City, Guizhou Province (108.79°E, 27.54°N). During the period of 2023-2024, rhizome rot disease was detected in 1- to 2-year-old E. sagittatum plants within local plantations. The initial symptoms manifested as darkening of the stem base and scales, eventually leading to complete wilting and rhizome rot. A total of twelve symptomatic plants were collected for pathogen isolation. The diseased rhizome tissues underwent surface sterilization using 5% sodium hypochlorite for 30 seconds, followed by 75% ethanol for 30 seconds, and were then rinsed three times with sterile water before being cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C. After 3-5 days, hyphal tips were transferred to fresh PDA for purification. This process resulted in the isolation of two distinct Fusarium species. Pathogenicity tests on 10-month-old cultivated E. sagittatum confirmed that the isolate JFB-2 induced rhizome rot symptoms identical to those observed in the field. Following a five-day incubation period at 25°C under dark conditions, the isolate JFB-2 developed dense, cottony mycelia, with colonies exhibiting a coloration ranging from white to pale purple or light pink. The macroconidia were hyaline and falcate (sickle-shaped), possessing 3-5 septa, and measured 36.5 (29.5-42.5) × 3.6 (3-4.5) μm (n=50). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF), and RNA polymerase II subunit B2 (RPB2) genes of JFB-2 were amplified using the primers ITS1/ITS4, EF1-R6/F6, and RPB2-5F/7cR, as described by Zhang et al. (2024). The sequences obtained for ITS (GenBank accession PV546364), TEF (PV550274), and RPB2 (PV550273) exhibited greater than 98.9% identity and at least 98% query coverage when compared to F. oxysporum reference sequences (MN856306.1 for ITS, PP737057.1 for TEF, and ON316723.1 for RPB2). Phylogenetic analysis, employing Bayesian methods on concatenated ITS and TEF sequences (Zhang et al., 2020), positioned JFB-2 within the F. oxysporum clade with a posterior probability of 100%. The pathogenicity of the JFB-2 strain was confirmed in healthy E. sagittatum plants. The roots of three replicate plants were wounded and inoculated with 150 mL of a conidial suspension at a concentration of 1×10⁶ conidia/mL. These plants were then maintained in a humid chamber at a temperature of 25±1°C and 85% relative humidity. Control plants were treated with sterile double-distilled water. After a period of 15 days, the inoculated plants exhibited symptoms consistent with those observed in the field, and F. oxysporum was successfully reisolated from the diseased tissues. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of the reisolated pathogen (accession number PQ656171.1) was identical to that of the JFB-2 strain, thereby satisfying Koch's postulates. F. oxysporum has previously been identified as a pathogen responsible for rhizome rot in various plants, including onions (Wesoly et al., 2024), Polygonatum cyrtonema (An et al., 2024), and Polygonatum odoratum (Xu et al., 2022). To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first documented instance of F. oxysporum infecting E. sagittatum in China, offering valuable insights for the management of diseases in medicinal plant cultivation.

The genus of Epimedium belongs to Berberidaceae family, which is famous for their medicinal and ornamental value. In recent years, Epimedium has attracted increasing attention due to their medicinal and nutritive value. In this research, we reported the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Epimedium enshiense. The complete chloroplast of this species is 157,076 bp in length, including a pair of invert repeat regions (IRS) (25,833 bp) that is divided by a large single copy area (LSC) (88,340 bp) and a small single copy area (SSC) (17,070 bp). The circular chloroplast genome of E. enshiense contains 112 unique genes, composing of 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA, and four rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that E. enshiense has a closer relationship with E. dolichostmon.

Epimedium simplicifolium Ying is a rare and endangered species endemic to Guizhou, China. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of E. simplicifolium was sequenced. The total cp genomes size was 158,745 bp in length, with 38.7% of GC content, including four distinct regions: the large single-copy region (LSC, 88,413 bp), small single-copy region (SSC, 15,386 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs, each for 27,473 bp). The whole cp genome of E. simplicifolium encoded 131 unique genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis with the previously reported cp genomes showed that all the samples of Epimedium are grouped into one group, which can be easily separated from the other genera of the Berberidaceae, and the E. simplicifolium is a separate species from the rest of the Epimedium. This plastid genome is the first report for the E. simplicifolium and will be useful data for developing markers for further studies on resolving the relationship within the Berberidaceae.

Epimedium shuichengense S. Z. He is a rare and endangered species endemic to Guizhou, China. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of E. shuichengense was sequenced. The total cp genomes size was 157,046 bp in length, with 38.8% of GC content, including four distinct regions: the large single-copy region (LSC, 88,394 bp), small single-copy region (SSC, 17,048 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs, each for 20,820 bp). The whole cp genome of E. shuichengense encoded 130 unique genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis with the previously reported cp genomes showed that all the samples of Epimedium are grouped into one group, which can be easily separated from out groups, and E. shuichengense with E. borealiguizhouense into a supported branch.