Mitochondrial genomes of Dactylogyrus wunderi (Monopisthocotyla: Dactylogyridae): structural features, codon usage patterns, and phylogenetic implications

BACKGROUND: Codon usage bias (CUB) is a common phenomenon reported among many species and genes, but its unique characteristics in the mitochondrial genome of class Monopisthocotyla remain unknown. METHODS: The complete mitochondrial genome of Dactylogyrus wunderi was sequenced and characterized, and the mitochondrial genome compositions and CUB of six Dactylogyrus species and 35 Monopisthocotyla species were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. RESULTS: The mitochondrial genome of D. wunderi is a typical circular structure in length of 14,920 bp. The A + T contents of the six Dactylogyrus species (58.4% ± 5.7%) were significantly lower than that of Monopisthocotyla species (71.0% ± 5.80%, p < 0.01). Neutrality plot analysis showed slopes of 0.3136 and 0.389 in the six Dactylogyrus and the 35 Monopisthocotyla species, respectively. Furthermore, 98.3% and 77.4% of the genes in the six Dactylogyrus and the Monopisthocotyla species, respectively, had effective number of codons (ENC) higher than 35, but 23.3% and 0.5% genes of ENC ratio ranged from - 0.05 to 0.05 in the six Dactylogyrus and Monopisthocotyla species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that, within the context of the sampled taxa, the families of Monopisthocotyla were monophyletic groups, except for Ancyrocephalidae. CONCLUSIONS: The nucleotide composition had AT base bias in Monopisthocotyla, and natural selection was the main factor affecting CUB in the mitochondrial genomes of Monopisthocotyla species. These results provided insights into the factors affecting CUB in Monopisthocotyla species and deepened our insight of phylogeny, evolution, and codon usage of Monopisthocotyla.