Gene loss and genome rearrangement in the plastids of five Hemiparasites in the family Orobanchaceae.

Background: The chloroplast genomes (plastome) of most plants are highly conserved in structure, gene content, and gene order. Parasitic plants, including those that are fully photosynthetic, often contain plastome rearrangements. These most notably include gene deletions that result in a smaller plastome size.