Characterization of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Pedicularis henryi and Its Phylogenetic Implications in Lamiales

Pedicularis henryi is a hemiparasitic species within Orobanchaceae (Lamiales). In this study, the mitochondrial genome of P. henryi was assembled and characterized. The mitogenome is 251,317 bp in length with a GC content of 44.32%, containing 36 protein-coding genes, 24 tRNAs, and three rRNAs. Codon usage analysis revealed a marked preference for A/U-terminated codons. A total of 196 repetitive elements were identified, with interspersed repeats as the most abundant type. We detected 293 C-to-U RNA editing sites across 31 protein-coding genes, predominantly causing non-synonymous substitutions. Eighteen chloroplast-derived fragments totaling 35,894 bp were found, accounting for 15.0% of the mitogenome. Nucleotide diversity analysis among three Pedicularis species showed an average π of 0.0018, with core respiratory genes highly conserved. Synteny analysis revealed extensive structural rearrangement in P. henryi compared to P. chinensis. This study provides mitochondrial genomic resources for Orobanchaceae and insights into mitogenome evolution in hemiparasitic plants.