Trichuris spp. is a widespread nematode which parasitizes a wide range of mammalian hosts including rodents, the most diverse mammalian order. However, genetic data on rodent whipworms are still scarce, with only one published whole genome (Trichuris muris) despite an increasing demand for whole genome data. We sequenced the whipworm mitogenomes from seven rodent hosts belonging to three biogeographic regions (Palearctic, Afrotropical, and Indomalayan), including three previously described species: Trichuris cossoni, Trichurisarvicolae, and Trichurismastomysi. We assembled and annotated two complete and five almost complete mitogenomes (lacking only the long non-coding region) and performed comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses. All the mitogenomes are circular, have the same organisation, and consist of 13 protein-coding, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis supports geographical clustering of whipworm species and indicates that T. mastomysi found in Eastern Africa is able to infect multiple closely related rodent hosts. Our results are informative for species delimitation based on mitochondrial markers and could be further used in studies on phylogeny, phylogeography, and population genetics of rodent whipworms.

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 602 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Kamýcká 129 165 21 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Czech Academy of Sciences Květná 8 603 65 Brno Czech Republic

Section of Parasitology Department of Biology Healthcare and the Environment Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences University of Barcelona 08007 Barcelona Spain

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