Plastome reduction and gene content in New World Pilostyles (Apodanthaceae) unveils high similarities to African and Australian congeners.

Holoparasitism has led to extreme plastome reduction. Plastomes in the legume holoparasite Pilostyles (Apodanthaceae) are the most reduced in both size and gene content known so far in Embryophytes. Here, we found that the Pilostyles boyacensis plastome, the only American species sequenced so far, is reduced to seven functional genes, accD, rpl2, rrn16 (=16S), rrn23 (=23S), rps3, rps12 and a putative oxidoreductase (PbOx).