The complete mitochondrial genome of capillariid nematodes (Eucoleus annulatus): A novel gene arrangement and phylogenetic implications

Capillariid nematode is a group of endoparasites of vertebrates with a complex taxonomy, causing significant economic losses to poultry industry. The taxonomic status of the genus Eucoleus remained controversial for several decades. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA provides useful genetic markers for accurate identification of species, but complete mt genome sequences have been lacking for any Capillariid nematodes. In the present study, we decoded the complete mt genome of E. annulatus and examined its phylogenetic relationship with selected members of the class Enoplea nematodes. The circular mt genome of E. annulatus was 14,118 bp, encoded 37 genes with a single non-coding region and showed substantial gene rearrangements (especially tRNA genes) compared to other nematodes studied to date. The complete mt genome of E. annulatus showed a clear A + T bias in nucleotide composition. The number of A (5404) was approximately equal to T (5405) and the GC-skew was negative on average (-0.073). Phylogenetic analyses based on 18S rDNA placed Eucoleus spp. well apart from each other and supported the proposal that Eucoleus and Capillaria are two distinct genera. Similarly, Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenies based on mtDNA sequences revealed that the family Capillariidae is more closely related to the family Trichuridae than to the family Trichinellidae. This is the first report of the complete mt genome of capillariid nematodes, and it will provide additional genetic markers for studying the molecular epidemiology, population genetics and systematics of capillariid nematodes and should have implications for the molecular diagnosis, prevention, and control of capillariosis in animals.